Ineffable
by Deliciously Weird
Summary: Chloe/Sam - Book One 'At Home in Your Heart' Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.
1. Chapter 1

**Ineffable – 1/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, OFC

Rating: PG

**ineffable** [ɪnˈɛfəbəl] **_adj_**

**1. too great or intense to be expressed in words; unutterable**

**2. too sacred to be uttered**

**3. indescribable; indefinable**

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Wrapping her arms around her waist pulling her coat more snuggly around her Chloe hurried down the sidewalk. The heel of her shoes clicking along as she made her way down the street.

Normally Chloe was quite fond of cooler weather. However, hose and heals were a poor replacement for warm pants when a gust of cold wind caressed her body. With a shiver she gratefully slipped into the building that housed the ISIS office.

She doubted that many of 'her kids' would show up tonight for the meeting. The cold weather was keeping most people indoors.

Starting a pot of coffee she slid into her chair booting up the computer systems. She rubbed her hands together to stimulate warmth as she waited for them to finish loading. She might as well work on some research for Oliver while she waited.

Chloe did not regret agreeing to work with the Justice League. Anything she could do to take Lex down a notch was definitely a pleasure. The extra funds that the job provided were not just appreciated, they were necessary now that she no longer could depend on her Daily Planet check. She sighed as she looked around the office. Working at ISIS was in a way penitence for her. Having spent so many years chasing down meteor freaks without once saving one put her rather heavily on the wrong side of the ledger in her mind.

Glancing at her watch and seeing that it was 15 past the hour with no one yet showing for the meeting she got down to work. The League was currently in transit to Germany. Victor had discovered one of Luther Corps hidden subsidiaries there. They suspected that Lex was, as usual, up to no good. The plan was for them to do a little recon on the instillation there. The job seemed fairly typical and Chloe didn't have a bad feeling about it per say, but still she would feel better if she could find more detailed information for the gang before the actually went on sight.

Chloe was deeply into her work when she felt a cold breeze blow into the office and heard the door slam behind her. Stifling a small shriek, she spun in her chair quickly.

"Jease!" Chloe exclaimed as she took in the woman standing shivering at the door. "Angela? What in the world…"

Chloe hurried across the room and shut the door. She led Angela over to the sitting area and helping her into the loveseat.

"Angela, what's wrong?" The other woman was pale and trembling. Chloe could not tell if that was from fear or cold, but something was obviously upsetting the woman. When Angela didn't respond right away Chloe poured her a cup of coffee and waited patiently as the older woman wrapped her chilled hands around the warm cup. Angela was the oldest of 'her kids', which was an ironic thing to call a woman old enough to be her mother. She had started attending the meetings recently. Chloe was always grateful for her presence. She was a calming influence on the younger members of the group. She usually came armed with a tray of baked goods and a load of good humor and good sense. To see her so shaken was unsettling.

It was only recently that Chloe found out just why she was such a stabilizing influence on the group. Angela was a projective empathy. She could read emotions off people as well, but her strongest gift was to affect the emotions of those around her. Luckily for Smallville and the world in general, Angela was a wonderfully even tempered creature. Right now all she was giving off was uneasy.

"Angela, are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"Do you… have you ever seen something…" Angela ventured hesitantly.

"Go on please. I have seen a lot of things that most people do not think possible" Chloe encouraged.

"I think my house is haunted" Angela stated in a rush.

Chloe sat back in her chair and took a moment to process that. "Okay, what makes you believe that your house is haunted?"

"It's just this feeling that I get. I'll be going about doing my daily business and I'll get this,… chill feeling. It's like there is someone in the room with me. The feeling is so malevolent! It's all hate and anger and despair".

"You are alone when this happens?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, my son is away at school now, so it's just me and the dog at home now" Angela stated.

"Is there a particular time or place that you get this feeling?"

"Not really a particular place. It has happened in most of the downstairs rooms. It only happens at night. I was lying in bed last week and had a feeling like someone was looming over me wanting to hurt me."

"That must have been quite unsettling. How long has this been happening?"

"Ever since we moved in, with Tim off to school I sold the old house and bought a smaller one. I really didn't need that big old place anymore. The house was so cozy, and the price was so good I couldn't resist it" Angela explained. "I really liked that the master was downstairs, what with my bad knee and all. But I can't sleep in that room anymore! It got dark and I felt this feeling of menace and I just had to get out of that house. I know it's late and the meeting is long over, but I just could not stay there a moment longer."

"It will okay Angela. Why don't you stay with me tonight and we will go over there and take a look in the morning" Chloe offered.

"Thank you Chloe. I would really like that" Angela said offering her first true smile of the night. "I have been sleeping in Tim's room upstairs, but even though I haven't felt the presence up there I just don't feel safe."

"Don't worry Angela, we will get to the bottom of this".

Quickly sending off her research to Victor to look over on his end, Chloe shut down the computers, gathered her things and Angela heading to her apartment for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ineffable – 2/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent, OFC

Rating: PG

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Warnings: Violence. I think there are two swear words in this somewhere. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Chloe was worried. It would certainly be hypocritical of her to just dismiss Angela's concerns. Chloe knew from her own experience that ghosts were a definite possibility. She could not however disregard the chance that this was Angela's gift turning against her. From her experience in Smallville, a power gone rogue was much more likely than an actual haunting. Just the thought of sweet Angela in Belle Reeve was enough to make her heart ache. No, she wouldn't let that happen regardless. Certainly if it came to that Oliver would make sure she was in a nice facility where she would be cared for rather than exploited.

Pouring herself her second coffee of the day Chloe sat down at her kitchen table and started typing an email. She knew Victor could be trusted to keep things to himself if requested to. She had more than once used him as a back up safety call when she was investigating something. So she gave him the bare bones of the situation so someone would be aware of what she was doing. She trusted Victor not to over react or lecture her on taking chances like Clark and Oliver were apt to.

Safety net in place Chloe started researching. There was a ton of lore out there about ghosts. While this was certainly a good thing, it also was frustrating as Clark Kent on a mope fest. The information was varied, contradictory and often too vague to be a bit of use. This was going to be a long day Chloe thought.

Chloe looked up as Angela came into the room. "Good morning. There is coffee in the kitchen."

"Good morning Dear" Angela said with a smile as she headed into the kitchen. "How about some breakfast"?

"Make anything you like for yourself Angela, but I really don't eat much in the mornings".

Chloe turned back to her computer jotting down notes on a pad of paper as she went. She could not help but laugh when she found a site called Ghostfacers. She chuckled as she read through the main page. Then as she looked closer, she stopped laughing. There were specific instructions and diagrams for making something called an EMF reader.

I am out of my mind, Chloe thought. These guys scream nut jobs. However, it was the most specific information she had so far gathered. There were a lot of sites out there stating they used this or that for detection. The devices ranged from thermal imaging scans to tin foil hats, from crucifixes to lines of salt. Well salt, unlike a thermal imaging scanner, was easy to come by so that was a no brainer to bring along. No way in hell was she wearing a tin foil hat however. Chloe rolled her eyes.

Chloe smiled when Angela brought her over some toast as she sat down with her own breakfast of oatmeal, coffee and toast.

"Chloe, I want to thank you for last night. I was so afraid you would think I was out of my mind" Angela said.

"Believe it of not, this is not my first run in with the spirit world. We will find out what is going on I promise".

"Okay what's next? I don't have class until Monday so we have all day. They can probably get a substitute if I they have to, but I would prefer not to miss work".

"Well first off I would like to take a look at your house. We can head over there after breakfast".

Angela's home was just as she had described it cozy which surprised Chloe. It was actually a delightful little home. Chloe snorted at herself. What were you expecting the Amityville house? They spent the whole morning going through the house. Angela projecting unease the whole time they were there.

"Just relax Angela. You said nothing ever happens during the day right? So we should be totally safe" Chloe reassured her.

"I know. It's just that even though the spirit, ghost whatever it is scares me. I also really want you to feel it or see it so you know I am not crazy".

"Well I really didn't expect to see anything this morning, so relax".

Looking around the house brought her no clues. Chloe sighed as she went back downstairs.

"From the research I did this morning, most hauntings are due to violent deaths in the home itself. I thought that I would go do some research and see if I could find any past instances here. Will you be okay here if I head over to ISIS to do some more research? The computers there are much more powerful than my laptop".

It was readily apparent that Angela was uneasy to be left alone in the house but she agreed none the less.

Taping into the Daily Planet data base with Lois' ID, sorry Lois, Chloe was able to sort through articles for many years in the past. Frustratingly she found nothing that would indicate a haunting. Where to look next? Chloe smiled as she felt a gust of wind behind her.

"Clark, what can I do for you today?"

"I was stopping by to see if you wanted to grab some lunch." Chalk said giving her his dopey farm boy smile. "I hadn't heard from you in a couple of days. Ghosts?" He asked looking up at the computer screens.

Chloe sighed internally. She figured she would never be immune to that smile. She had long ago given up on the thought of being with Clark. But that dopey smile still makes her feel like a gooey 15 year old with a crush. "One of my ISIS clients is concerned that her house may be haunted. So I am looking into it for her. We went through her house this morning but I didn't find anything out of the ordinary".

Clark straightened up immediately a look of concern on his face. "Chloe, I don't like you going alone into a stranger's house. I know you want to help the meteor infected and I support your decision. You know as well as I do that she might not be a safe person to be around".

"Clark, you are going to have to trust me on this one. While I am not entirely certain if this spirit is real or in her mind, I don't think she is a danger to me. Don't worry so much. It's just a bit of research into the history of the house".

"Alright" Clark nodded. "Give me a call if you need me Chloe. I mean it. Call me".

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yes yes yes. Scouts honor" crossing her fingers behind her back.

She loved Clark, really she did. He could just be so infernally protective at times. It was frustrating to be coddled like an errant child.

Linking arms with him as the left the building for lunch she promised herself that she would only call him as a last resort. He had more than enough on his plate with Kara and Lana at home.

Pulling up in front of Angela's house late that afternoon Chloe hoped that she was prepared enough. She pulled out the duffle bag she had packed for tonight. Having no idea what if any of her research was accurate she had a little bit of everything she could lay her hands on in there. There was even a roll of aluminum foil in there, though she would deny that until the day she died.

She didn't even have to knock on the door. Angela was there waiting for her looking pale and a little frightened.

Silently moving into the house she held Angela's gaze grasping her hand briefly in support. Chloe saw her sigh and relax somewhat. She was glad the older woman was holding herself together. Looking at her you would never guess she had such a powerful gift. She was the physical embodiment of mom. She should be baking apple pies not wielding a gift that could start riots or calm a mob. She wasn't projecting at the moment and Chloe was happy to feel her control. She knew it must take a lot for her to lock it down as frightened as she was.

"Can I get you some coffee?" Angela asked.

"Thank you that would be lovely".

Chloe placed her duffle bag on the ground by the small kitchen table. Opening it up she started pulling out the things she thought most likely to actually be useful. Pulling a crucifix over her own head she placed one on the table in front of the other chair.

"Put that on. I am not sure what is fact and what is legend, but it never hurts to be safe" Chloe stated when Angela came back over.

Angela slipped the crucifix over her head and took a seat across the table handing her a cup.

"When were the earliest and the latest in the day that you felt the presence of the spirit?" Chloe asked.

"I think the earliest was about 11pm, maybe 12. The latest would be 3 or 4 in the morning, when it woke me up looming over me in bed".

"You say looming, could you actually see it?"

"No it was just a sense of the thing. I can always sort of feel where it is in the room."

"Alright it sounds like we have a lot of time before we can expect a visitation, so why don't you just go about things as normal while we wait".

Taking a deep breath and releasing it Angela nodded and headed into the Living room to watch some TV.

Glancing at her watch Chloe sighed. She had a couple hours to get ready. Pulling the small kitchen table away from the wall Chloe pulled a bag of salt from the duffle she had borrowed from Lois. Lois was out of town on assignment, but Chloe was certain she would not care about the loan of the bag or the other items she had pilfered. The paintball gun, on the other hand she was certain to catch hell about.

Chloe had read somewhere about rock salt shotguns. She did not have a shot gun, but she thought if she molded some rock salt into pellets of the right size, that maybe she could use them in the paint ball gun.

Chloe winced just thinking about all that salt inside the gun. It was certainly not going to be good for it. She just hoped it wouldn't be too expensive to replace if it was ruined. Getting a bowl of water to help create the pellets, she set to work.

Angela saw what she was doing and crossed over and took over the job of creating the pellets.

"They need to be very close in shape and size to the paint ball pellet there" Chloe pointed out.

"I'll get them just as close as possible".

Angela seemed much calmer now. It really didn't surprise Chloe. Angela was a doer not a watcher and having something constructive to do was obviously calming to her.

Pouring a circle of salt around the little table they were seated at Chloe explained to Angela. "Hopefully the lore I researched was correct. It said that ghosts can not cross a line of salt. So supposedly this table will be our safe zone".

Placing two 20oz soda bottle on the table she continued, "Holy water is also supposed to have some sort of effect of them. I am not sure if it wards against them or you use it as a weapon. The lore was unclear on that."

She lifts up the paintball gun with a small grin. "I found some sources that indicated shotguns with rock salt cartridges are an effective weapon against ghosts. It seems far fetched that a gun could hurt a spirit, but I thought it would be worth a try. I don't own a shot gun so we are stuck with this. Looks seriously Rambo doesn't it". They both chuckled at the size of the gun.

"My cousin is one scary lady let me tell you". Chloe stated with a wink.

"That is one scary looking gun for sure".

"There seems to be only two ways to get rid of a spirit. You can get a priest to come and exorcise it is one. I am not catholic so I have no pull with the local Catholic Church to even think about getting one here".

"I'm Methodist myself" Angela said.

"Alright so that leaves us with option two, which I really don't want to think about. I hacked into a website shortly before I came over that said to kill a ghost you have to salt and burn their bones".

"Ehhhew!"

Chloe wrinkled her nose. "My thoughts exactly. Also it's of no use to us currently. I have found no indication that anyone died a violet death anywhere near this house. I am going to head over to the Smallville Gazette in the morning and sort through the microfiche. Hopefully I will be able to come up with something from there".

"Ghosts are supposed to have two affects on their environment just by being. First they create a cold spot in the room. It's supposed to be a very noticeable change in temperature, something around a 20 degree change".

"I have definitely felt that multiple times in the house" Angela commented.

"Alright so that makes your ghost theory more likely. They are also supposed to create an electromagnetic field. There are detectors that you can buy or build to measure that. Unfortunately, I would have to order one offline and it would not be here for a week. I do have instructions on how to build one. I have a friend who would be more than willing to make it for me once he is back in town. So if we can't fix this in the short term I will just get Victor to create one. In the short term we can use this" Chloe said handing Angela a compass. "The field should make the needle spin".

"God Chloe", Angela stuttered. "I don't know how I will ever thank you for all of this. Please at least let me reimburse you".

Chloe laughed. "I actually bought very little, mainly just the salt and the second compass. Most of it I borrowed from my cousin. She even had night vision goggles. I stopped by my friend Oliver's house for the digital video recorder" she stated handing it to Angela. "I already owned a digital audio recorder from my days as a reporter. I liked being able to store interviews on my hard drive for future use".

"You are amazing." Angela said. "Alright, we have about 2 hours so why don't I make us dinner."

"That sounds lovely".

After dinner they settled in for the night watching television.

"Just remember. If things turn bad, head for the table. Step over the salt, if you break the circle you break the protection" Chloe warned.

They were watching the late night news when Chloe felt the first chill. She glanced over at Angela to see that she was frozen fearfully in place looking over Chloe's shoulder. Slowly Chloe turned slipping off the couch and raising her compass in front of her.

"I feel it too Angela" Chloe said.

Chloe watched as the needle started to spin, slowly then quicker flipping erratically back and forth. The lights and TV flickered several times then went out. Chloe heard Angela gasp and felt her projected fear rising.

"Easy Angela, calm down I am here". Fumbling for her flashlight she flicked it on as she backed up to stand by Angela.

"Chloe he is between us and the kitchen" Angela squeaked.

Remembering how having something to do had calmed her earlier Chloe told her to start filming. Angela lifted the camera in a trembling hand pointing it over the back of the sofa. Chloe reached into her pocket and flicked on her digital audio recorder as well.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Chloe asked as she felt a rising sense of menace. "Raising her gun and pointing it in the direction of Angela's camera Chloe continued talking. "You need to leave this place, you are not welcome here. If you do not leave of your own accord, I will find a way to force you out".

Angela was flung across the room screaming. Chloe raced over to her feeling as if she was being buffeted by fear and aggression. Pulling her up by her arm she started dragging her towards the kitchen. A cold force caught Chloe in the side slamming her into the archway as they passed into the kitchen. Chloe cried out in pain as she felt something break inside.

"RUN! Get in the circle". She cried as she panted in pain. She watched in relief as Angela made it to the table. Once again Chloe was tossed across the room landing sprawled across the back of the sofa. Crying out in pain she looked around with her flashlight trying to see the spirit.

Chloe's heart was pounding in her chest as she wondered what to do. How could she fight something she couldn't see? Then she saw something. The throw on the back of Angela's armchair moved like someone brushing against it. Raising Lois's gun she shot several rounds into the general area.

Hearing a cry of pain after the third shot Chloe raced across the room and into the salt circle with Angela. Angela was sobbing in fear with one arm wrapped around her middle but still holding up the video camera pointed towards the living room.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

Angela nodded. "I… I think so."

Then a lamp flew across the living room slamming into the wall.

Angela shrieked and clutched at Chloe. Chloe grunted in pain as her aching side was pulled but just held onto her.

Angela was projecting big time now. As the spirit started to destroy her living room she tapped into its feelings. Hate, anger, despair and the wanton need to destroy, main and kill was projected directly into Chloe's mind. Layered over and surrounding that was the honest terror of the woman she held in her arms.

Chloe struggled under the burden of the dual attack. Grabbing hold of Angela she shook her screaming for her to lock it down, but Angela was far gone wrapped around herself. Chloe could do nothing more than hold onto her and pray for it to stop. Chloe felt the spirits anger and frustration through Angela as it passed around the edges of their circle trying to find a breech in their protections.

The malevolence and terror was so strong she felt as if she could hardly breathe. Angela screamed and started to struggle in Chloe's grasp trying to get to her feet and run.

"Stop Angela Stop!"

"We need to run. Run Chloe!"

Grunting in pain Chloe pulled her back down. "Stop Angela think if it could have gotten to us it would have already. We are safe here. Just stop."

"No no no no no no…" Angela continued to struggle. Her fear and the creatures anger starting to overwhelm Chloe. Chloe did the only things she could at that point. Grabbing her flashlight she smacked poor Angela across the back of the head.

"Oh God" Chloe gasped in relief as Angela fell unconscious. With her also went her projections. Chloe could no longer feel her fear or the spirits anger. Gasping a sob back she gathered the older woman to her checking her wound. She wanted to heal it but knew that would have to wait until morning. She dare not let the other woman wake up.

So she sat chilled on the linoleum floor of Angela's kitchen, cuddling a woman twice her age against her like a child. Feeling the cold of the spirit pass over her again and again, Chloe counted the other woman's breaths through the balance of the night. She prayed that she hadn't hurt her too badly and that they would survive.

Once the terror had faded and her brain was back online Chloe thought to pull the night vision goggles on her head down over her eyes. She couldn't see the spirit itself, but she could see the darkness of the cold it created swirling as it moved about the room. Oddly enough, being able to track it made her feel more secure. Calmly she waited through the night as she stood guard over the woman she held.

Once the terror had faded and her brain was back online Chloe thought to pull the night vision goggles on her head down over her eyes. She couldn't see the spirit itself, but she could see the darkness of the cold it created swirling as it moved about the room. Oddly enough, being able to track it made her feel more secure. Calmly she waited through the night as she stood guard over the woman she held.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ineffable – 3/****10**  
By Deliciously Weird  
Pairing: Chloe/Sam  
Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Clark Kent, OFC  
Rating: PG

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Warnings: A sprinkling of profanity so far though I expect it to get much more adult down the line. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

As the light of pre-dawn dimly penetrated the windows of the house Chloe finally with relief healed the bump on Angela's head. She had not seen any cold spots with her goggles for the better part of two hours so she thought it would be safe to move. Pain bloomed across the back of her skull as a wave of fatigue swept over her.

Oh my, Chloe thought as the stress of the healing added to the stress of her long night's vigil and gently pulled her into unconsciousness.

"Chloe. Chloe. Wake up now."

Chloe groaned and rolled over trying to ignore the voice.

"Come on, wake up now Miss Sullivan" the voice insisted.

Chloe rolled back over and started to stretch and hissed in pain as the injury on her side made itself known. Damn it, that hurt. Wouldn't it be convenient if she could actually heal herself? Oh no that would be asking too much. She just got to take on everyone else's pain as well. Chloe thought grumpily that life was not fair. Not only did she have her own wound from being thrown against the wall, she had a lingering headache from healing Angela as well.

Grudgingly she cracked open her eyes just a sliver to find herself in one of her least favorite places. Oh joy Smallville medical center! With a yawn she forced her eyes open all the way to see a doctor standing at the side of her bed with Angela in the chair beside her. Oh god what did Angela tell them?

"I hear you had a nasty little fall Chloe. I am Dr. Blakely, how are you feeling?" asked the Doctor.

"I'm okay. My side aches and I have a bit of a headache but nothing too bad" she replied.

"Well you feel better than you should then young lady, or you are understating your discomfort. You have a cracked rib from your fall and several contusions on your arms and torso as well".

"So when can I get out of here?" Chloe asked.

"You were unconscious for 2 hours Miss Sullivan. I would like to run some more tests to make sure there is nothing else wrong with you" he stated.

Oh hell no! Chloe thought.

"No really I feel just fine. I just need to go home and rest up. I have been working very hard lately and have not been getting very much sleep. I just want to go home".

"All right then, but if you have any dizziness, fatigue, increased pain when breathing or shortness of breath I want you to come back in right away. I want you to rest for the rest of today at the very least" the doctor ordered.

"Scout's honor doc" Chloe swore with her fingers crossed under the blanket. She sure was going to give those poor boy scouts a bad name.

"You'll drive her home then?" Dr. Blakely asked Angela.

"Certainly doctor" Angela answered.

Once the doctor left the room to process her release Chloe turned to Angela. "Are you okay?"

"Yes I am fine. I woke up early this morning to find you unconscious on the floor beside me. We were both inside the circle. Looks like that part works at least. I guess the ghost did something to knock us out. Good thing we were already inside the circle when he did."

"What did you tell the doctors?" Chloe asked.

"I told them you slipped on the snow on my porch steps and tumbled down. You had snow on you from where I drug you out of the house already so I figured that was best. I told them we were going to Sunday brunch together" she explained.

Chloe nodded in approval. "Good that should work fine. Simple and probably an accident they see a lot when it snows".

"Angela listen, is there someplace you can stay for a week or so? I have to be honest at this point I don't know what I am going to do about your house. I don't like the idea of you staying there alone any time of the day. I think your gift actually makes you more vulnerable to the spirit so it would be best if you stay away from the house until I can figure out what to do" Chloe explained.

"Yes I think I can stay with one of the other teachers for a few days. She lives closer to work anyway over in Granville. I'll just tell her that they found termites and the workman needed me out of the house. I agree about my gift being a vulnerability. It felt like he was burying me in pain and anger."

Chloe smiled at how practical Angela was. "That sounds perfect. If you will let me have your keys I will work on the problem and hopefully get it sorted out for you soon".

Once she got home Chloe checked her computer right away. Just as she suspected she had an email from Victor, two actually. The first one was feedback on the information she had found on the Germany instillation. The second was a response to her safety net email. Apparently Cyborg was not at all certain that ghosts actually did exist, but was still worried about her anyway.

Chloe chuckled and replied back that, yes dear Virginia there really is a Spirit in the house and it was a pissed son of a bitch at that. She asked him to suspend disbelief on her say so. Given this was her fourth encounter with a spirit she felt she could definitely confirm their existence.

Attaching the files for making the EMF reader to the note she asked him to look it over for her. She told him not to make it just yet, but if she couldn't figure something else out then she might need it. Padding the back end of the missive with assurances about her health, well being and safety in general she hit send and went to change cloths.

Sending an absent thought the boy scouts of America about how research really was rest for her and she really didn't lie to the nice doctor she set out for the Gazette.

Several hours later she though she found what she was looking for. "Well hello there Harold." In the year 1917 one Harold Elijah Stone died in his house on Prescott Street under suspicious circumstances. Fowl play was suspected but never proven. He is survived by his wife and son Elijah. Service will be on Sunday at Brimwood cemetery. "Bulls eye" Chloe whispered.

To say Chloe was nervous would be an understatement, but she was determined to see it done. Hauling her shovel and duffel bag through the cemetery she felt like she had a Target on her back.

I'm just an innocent young lady tramping through on my way to desecrating a grave don't mind me at all, she thought as she made her way to the back of the graveyard where the older stones were placed. Checking for other people as she went along, it took her about 10 minutes to locate the grave stone for Harold.

"Finally" Chloe was relieved this was almost over. She looked around again and saw no one around so decided to get busy. Picking up the shovel she stamped it down into the dirt and then tried to lift out the sod and doubled over gasping in pain. Wrapping her arms around her ribs she cursed as a few tears ran down her face.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap and double Crap!" What the hell was she going to do now? There was just no way she was going to be able to dig out the grave by herself, not with a cracked rib.

Groaning to herself she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Clark.

"Hey Chloe." Clark answered sounding rather chipper. It must be a good Lana day.

"Hi Clark. Are you busy right now or could you do me a favor?" Chloe asked.

"I am just doing some chores around the farm so it's no problem. Where are you?" He asked.

"Okay that's the problem. Clark do you trust me?" She asked.

"Chloe are you in trouble. Tell me where you are. I'll be there in just a second".

Chloe sighed. "I am not in trouble, at least not yet. I am going to ask you to do something that I am fairly sure is going to bother you. But I really need you to do it and not ask me questions about it until tomorrow. Will you please do that for me" she asked.

"Chloe what are you talking about, if you are in so…."

"Clark!" Chloe interrupted, "just do this for me please and I will explain everything later I promise".

"Alright Chloe but I am uncomfortable promising to do something without knowing what it is. Where are you?" he asked.

"I am at Brimwood cemetery; it's the one down off of …" Whooosh! "Hi Clark" Chloe turned snapping her phone shut.

Clark gave her a sharp look and gently ran his fingers over her left cheek. "How did you get this Chlo?" He asked gently.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Where did this bruise come from?"

"I wasn't even aware that I had one" she stated running her hand over her cheek. "It's nothing to worry about Clark. I just took a tumble I am fine".

Clark squinted at her and Chloe rolled her eyes counting in her head waiting for it, and 3, 2, 1..

"Your rib is cracked Chloe. That is not a little tumble, you should go to the doctor" he protested his hand resting gently on her left side as if to protect her rib from further damage.

"I already did see a doctor this morning. I was released this morning I swear. Stop being so over protective. I can take care of myself".

"Well you should be resting Chlo, I worry about you".

"This is actually why you are here. I need your help. Remember you promised to wait for the explanation until tomorrow".

"I need you to dig up this grave. I just can't do it myself with this rib".

"Dig,…. Dig up a grave Chloe are you out of your mind".

"Stop right there Clark. Tomorrow okay, just dig now" Chloe responded checking again to see if they were alone.

Clark did not look happy at all but did as she asked. With Clark doing the labor it only took about 30 seconds to dig down to the casket. He grumbled to her that if she was anyone else he wouldn't be doing this.

"I know Clark," she replied bending down to kissing his cheek softly where he stood in the hole "thank you for trusting me. Okay open it up".

Hoping that she was doing it right Chloe salted the bones, added lighter fluid and the set Harold's remains on fire. This ghost hunting business was really kind of disgusting she thought. They waited until the flames burned out then Clark closed the casket and reburied it. All told the process took them less than 5 minutes.

"Thank you Clark" Chloe said.

"I assume this is about that ghost business you were researching the other day. Is this the end of it then?" He asked grabbing the duffle bag and shovel from her and carrying them back to her car.

"With any luck that will be the end of the deal" Chloe sighed in relief. She should have known he would figure it out by himself. Though he rarely chose to show it, Clark had a very sharp mind. "I am glad we don't normally have to deal with ghosts, that was just gross".

"I need to get back to the farm. You should head home and rest now. You shouldn't be doing too much with those ribs" Clark said giving her a look that said he would be checking on her. Just what she needed a 6'3" momma bear on her ass.

This was exactly why it took her so many years to get over Clark. It was very obvious that he loved her deeply. He was kind, gentle, affectionate and absurdly protective of her. He was also completely and totally IN love with Lana. Chloe watched as he disappeared with a whoosh, headed back to the love of his life.

Once Chloe got home she checked her messages and email.

Lois left a voicemail she was having a grand old time in Mexico and promised to bring her back a sombrero. What did Lois think she need with a sombrero she wondered? Chloe grinned at her cousin's quirkiness.

Just as she suspected she had two more messages from Victor. The one for watchtower detailed what they had discovered about the instillation. Chances were looking good that this was going to be another 33.1 facility. It wasn't currently online, but they were converting it adding holding rooms and laboratories. The boys decided to stay a few more days to see if they could get enough proof to blow the buildings. Not surprisingly Oliver wanted proof before demolition.

The second message asked her what was up. He said she was way too perky and calm. He demanded to be told so how badly was she hurt, on threat of notifying Oliver if he thought she wasn't being honest. Chloe chuckled at that. Victor was becoming a good friend to her and she rarely got one over on him. He let her know that there was no way he would build the device as drawn up on the plans. It was shoddily designed and apt to give false readings. He did however include new schematics he had worked up in his spare time for a completely new model he was already working on. This one also included a thermal sensor to measure ambient room temperature.

Chloe sighed; she really hadn't meant to create so much work for him. She jotted off a message stating that she really was fine, just a cracked rib. She begged him not to tell Oliver and not to call Clark she had everything under control from her end. Clark was aware of the situation as well and was helping her with the investigation.

She praised his new design and told him in three different ways how smart and amazing he was and how she didn't deserve him. She assured him that there was no rush on the device that with a bit of luck she may already have resolved the situation. Hitting send she thought she probably aught to send one to Oliver as well just to keep them all off her case. So she sent him a brief note congratulating them on finding another 33.1 facility and telling him to call if he needed her.

She was tired to the bone but she knew that she would not be able to rest unless she checked for herself to make sure that the spirit was gone. She simply could not send her vulnerable empathic friend back into the house without making sure he was gone. Setting her alarm for 3 hours she laid down for a short nap. She had to be in the house before dark if she was going to set up a safe and comfortable spot.

Chloe was relieved to see that the equipment was still in the house when she got there. Not wanting to take a chance at spending another cold night on the linoleum floor, Chloe dragged the armchair over by the kitchen table. Cursing under her breath the whole way as in put undo strain on her ribs.

Taking out another packet of salt she enlarged the original circle to include the armchair even if she extended the footrest. No sense in sitting in a hard backed chair all night after all. Grabbing the throw blankets out of the Living room she set them down on one of the chairs. It had been damn cold last night with the spirit chilling the air in the room all night. Taking a deep breath she double checked the salt circle to make sure it was unbroken. Plugging in her lap top to conserve the battery as long as she could, she decided that she was ready. She took her seat in the armchair with her laptop fully charged sitting on the table beside her. Laying her salt gun across her lap she pulled the night vision goggles over her head letting them rest on her forehead ready if she needed them. Crucifix around her neck and a bottle of holy water and diet coke beside her she sat and waited.

Figuring she might as well get a bit of research done while she waited she booted up her lap top. She wanted to check out that site that had recommended the salt shotguns. She had a feeling that piece of advice had saved her life last night. She had to hack into the website again. It was decent security but not even a challenge for her to get into.

As she read through the website she began to fervently pray that these folks were nut jobs. If they weren't then Chloe was going to have to add an entirely new category of freaky shit to her life. If the boards were to be believed, these folks went out and actively hunted the supernatural across the country. They talked about fighting and killing a whole slew of things that Chloe really didn't want to believe were real. Werewolves? Vampires? Fucking minor fucking deities! They had to be nuts. Please god, let them be total loonies. Chloe shivered in fear,… wait… was it getting cold in here.

Slowly setting her computer aside she looked around the room. Checking her watch it was 12:17am. That was an hour later than the spirit showed the night before. The lights flickered several times then went out. Lowering her goggles over her eyes Chloe felt like crying when she saw the distinctive swirls oh darkness moving back and forth in the next room. Damn it, what the hell was she suppose to do now? Reaching over and unplugging her laptop to protect it from the fluctuating power Chloe grabbed a throw blanket and tucked it in around her legs.

Okay so what did she do in any situation when what she was doing wasn't working? She did research. Pulling her laptop over into her lap she reconnected to the website she had just been viewing. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Creating and ID and a yahoo account for herself under the name Spooked23 she thought for a moment and posted a message.

In need of professional advice.

What do you do if you have salted and burned the bones of the only possible violent death you discovered in research, but you still have a violent spirit in residence. Please advise what measures can be taken to ensure safety of home residents. The information I have discovered online is confusing and contradictory.

Spooked23

Chloe pulled up and logged into yahoo messenger under her new account so she would get message notifications and went back to reading posts. She checked every so often to see if Casper was still prowling. Sooner than she expected she got a message notification. She pulled up her original window and saw a reply to her post.

Spooked23,

It is obvious you are not a hunter. This site is not for civilians, please leave.

G

Chloe looked at the message in shock. Well she had hardly expected a red carpet given she had hacked into their system. A bit of advice would have been nice to go with the boot out the door. Grimacing at herself for hoping that some stranger would come to her rescue she closed out that window and went back to reading. She really should have known better. Other than Clark she had only ever had herself to truly depend on.

She got another message notification and grimaced. I guess they have visitor tracking and can see I am still on the site. Well bully for them. She was going to read as much as she could before they booted her off. Sighing she brought up another window and went to check the message. Maybe there was some useful information along with the snarl this time.

Spooked23,

If you burned the bones and the spirit is still there most likely you have the wrong body. It is possible that the spirit is bound onto an item rather than their body, but that is rare. How do you know that the spirit is still there? You say that it is a violent spirit, what makes you say it is violent.

Stan

Well that was definitely friendlier, if not really helpful.

Stan,

If it wasn't the right body then I am stumped for now. I was not able to locate any other violent or suspicious deaths at this residence. What kind of item would I be looking for if he was bound to an item?

I know that he is still here because I can see him moving with my night vision goggles. Also I just checked and my compass is still wonky as well. As to how I know he is violent. I got a big hint when he tossed me across the room twice yesterday. He pretty much trashed the living room yesterday when he couldn't get to us.

Spooked23

Spooked23,

I told you already to leave this site. You are not welcome here. Leave now and let the professionals handle things.

G

Spooked23,

You are in the house right now? You need to get out if you can. If you aren't already pour a circle of salt and stand inside it. Email me at .

Stan

Chloe smiled. Well it looks like Stan was trying to be helpful. She decided to go ahead and send him a message off her new yahoo account.

Stan,

Thank you for trying to help me out. I know that site was not meant for the public, but most of the information on the public sites is worthless. I haven't tried the holy water yet, but the crucifixes they recommended were useless. Let me tell you getting a couple bottles of holy water on the sly was so much fun.

Yes I am in the house. I wanted to check and make sure the house was safe before I told my friend to come back. She is more vulnerable to the spirit than I am. I am already sitting inside a circle of salt. After last night I wasn't willing to play chew toy to a spirit in the name of discovery.

Spooked.

Spooked,

Okay if you are inside the circle you are most likely safer just to stay where you are until daybreak. However, if things change and your circle is broken move quickly to an exit and get out of that house. Try a door or a window but get out.

Salt is the best defense against a vengeful spirit like I believe you have there. You said you did research on the history of the house. If you could tell me a bit of the history and where you looked it might be helpful.

So you have infrared glasses and a compass, sounds like you might be a military man. Just sit tight and we will get you out of there.

Stan

Stan,

I pretty much figured when I got here that I would be here all night if Casper decided to show again. I am set up pretty comfortable over here. The only thing I am worried about is my laptop battery dying. Casper cut the power just after midnight.

I totally agree with you on the salt. My salt gun probably saved my life last night. So I own my life to your website. That was where I got the idea for my gun. That is the reason I posted to your website. I figured get good information twice, the gun and the salt circle, then I had a fair chance of getting good advice again.

I spent hours going through the Daily Planet data base looking for any information on violent or suspicious deaths anywhere near this house. When I didn't find anything there, I went to our local paper and paged through the microfiche for hours on end. Finally I ended up in the basement looking through the old hard copy files. That is where I finally found something. There was a death by suspicious causes back in 1917. We dug up the body and burned it. I used a whole container of Morton's on Harold before we burned him. We let the corpse burn itself out before we reburied him. Would that have been sufficient?

No I am not a military man, though my uncle is a General. I borrowed most of this gear from his daughter, without asking. She is going to kill me for what I have done to her paint ball gun!

Spooked

Spooked,

The Daily Planet, so you are in Kansas. We are currently in Iowa. We are going to head your way now. What city in Kansas are we headed to.

From the sound of things you have done a decent job doing your research. I really do think it would be best if we came down and gave you a hand at this point. It really doesn't sound like you have a simple case on your hands. If you did exactly what you said and spread the salt over the entire corpse, then yes you did it correctly.

So what made you decide that you were going to try and handle this yourself. It sounds like this isn't even your home. Most folks run away from not towards the scary ghost.

Stan

Stan,

Well my friend came to me the other night scared to death. I couldn't just leave her to handle this by herself. It may not be my brand of freaky, but it isn't like it was my first encounter with a spirit either. Also I really wanted to check and make sure that she was haunted and not, well losing her mind.

I know when I am out of my depth. I would certainly love a professional hand with this mess. I certainly don't want to take the risk of telling my friend he is gone and having him show up again. He is so angry, and violet it scares me to think of her alone with him again. He is all anger, violence and despair.

The town you want to head to is Granville. The house is in between Granville and Smallville. My friend is staying with someone else for now so you won't have to worry about her.

Spooked

Chloe pulled another blanket off the chair and wrapped it around her shoulders with a shiver. Damn it was getting cold in here. She slipped her goggles down over her eyes and let out a tiny shriek. He was standing Right in front of her not moving. Chloe shuddered. It was like he was staring at her. Oh god oh god. Calm down Chloe told herself. Just breath you are safe inside the circle.

Spooked,

Smallville, as in the meteor capital of the world? You say that this isn't your first spirit. When have you dealt with ghosts before? So if this isn't 'your brand of weird' may I ask what is?

You say that the spirit is angry, violent and in despair. Are you guessing this from his actions or is he somehow projecting his emotions on you?

Hang in there buddy, we should be there before noon tomorrow.

Stan

Stan,

Oh thank god. You don't know how happy I am to hear you will be here soon. I am really starting to get a little freaked over here. Casper is standing Right in front of me at the salt line and he isn't moving. It's like he is staring at me. I must admit that I am frightened.

The answer to three of your questions is all related actually. My kind of weird has more to deal with the Meteor infected and meta humans than ghosts and werewolves. (Are those really real? Please say no.) Being that you hunt monsters for a living I am going to hope that you are open minded. I do counseling for the meteor infected. Smallville has been hit by two large meteors in the last 20 years. Some of the rocks from those meteor showers are radioactive. When someone is exposed to a large amount of these meteors or has exposure over a long time to them they can develop certain abilities. Just to list a few that I am aware of.

Bug affinity – (Controlling bees and assuming abilities both seen)

Chill touch

Fire starter

Power of persuasion – (by physical contact – 3 instances)

The friend I am trying to help out is a projective empathy. She receives and sends emotions. She is a very sweet lady who usually only sends out peace and calm. When we were in the house last night with the spirit she nearly overwhelmed me projecting her fear and his rage. It was like being in a tidal wave of emotion. So I don't want her anywhere near this house until I am certain he is gone. I am pretty damn sure it is a guy by the way. The, flavor of the rage is all masculine. Okay that just sounded fruity, but I don't know how else to put it.

I wish he would just go away. It is so creepy with his just a foot away staring at me!

In regards to my prior experience with spirits let's just say I know from personal experience they are real. Once you have been possessed by slutty 16th century witches and suicidal depressive abused girls, most things just fail to shock you.

Really Spooked!

Spooked,

Just try to stay calm. It's 3am already. You don't have very much longer to wait. Just remember, as long as you are in the circle you are safe.

My brother is dying to see your salt gun. He things you are a totally cool dude for figuring out how to adapt paint ball gun.

Listen, I am totally okay with what you told me in your last message. However, it would not be a good idea to post any messages about your friend's abilities on the message board. It would be best if you didn't mention anything like that at all. Some of us are not as open minded as you might think we should be. They would think anything that is out of the normal for human as something to be hunted. That is more the exception than the rule, but you should be careful.

Slutty 16th century witches? Okay you really need to tell me that story sometime.

Stan

Stan,

Well tell your brother he is more than welcome to look at my gun anytime he likes. I really didn't do anything to change the gun. We shaped rock salt into pellets to fit the gun. I wouldn't trust it for long duration without a lot of testing. I am afraid that the salt will eventually degrade the integrity of the barrel. God my cousin is going to kill me. Hope this thing wasn't too expensive.

Also tell him its cool chick not cool dude. Though if he calls me chick their just might be bloodshed.

I am so glad I thought to grab some blankets this time. It is freaking cold in here!

Do EMF readers work by the way? A friend of mine is designing one for me. I would hate for him to waste his time.

I promise you I won't say a word on the board about abilities. Plus I doubt I would post there again anyway. G is such a friendly cuddly sort of guy it will break my heart to part, but I'll just have to survive.

Tell me something about yourself. Help me pass the time here. Well at least until my battery dies.

Spooked still

Spooked,

Well I still think it was very bright of you to use the paint ball gun. I'll show you how to clean it well once we get rid of Casper for you. So you are a lady not a dude. You just made my brother's day. He loves a lady that can kick ass. His words not mine. *laughs*

There is really not that much to tell you about me. I was raised as a hunter from a very early age. This is almost the only life I know. I spent several years in college at Stanford, but my father went missing for a while and I ended up back on the road trying to find him.

The stubborn cuss is perfectly fine anyway.

Yes EMF readers work if you have a decent one.

I am the researcher of the two of us. I try not to even let my brother on my computer. He always gets it locked up with viruses. The only places you didn't check that I would have are the historical society and nosy neighbors. Some of our best information has come from gossipy old women.

You say you do counseling for the meteor infected. That strikes me as a potentially dangerous thing to do if what I am reading about the meteor infected is true. There is a whole page out there on the weird goings on in your town. It seems like the infected go off the reservation rather frequently.

Stan

Chloe considered his reply. While he certainly was giving the appearance of being quite helpful she still felt wary. His comment about the meteor infected in particular gave her a rising sense of unease. She gave her self a mental note not to trust in them too easily. In theory they were heroes of a different flavor. That did not mean she could invest her complete trust in them. They lived in a dark and dangerous world. It would be best if she waited until she met them to reveal anymore secrets. She definitely would have to be careful to guard the secret of her own ability.

Stan,

My battery is dying, but it is not too long until sunrise anyway. I haven't seen any indication of Casper in the last half hour. I am going to wait until sunrise just to be on the safe side. I will meet you in Smallville tomorrow. There is a coffee shop called the Talon on Main Street. You can't miss it. It's an old converted theater. I am going to head home from here and try to catch a few hours sleep.

Drive safely and give me a call when you get into town. 555-0138

I'll help you with the research when you get here. I used to be a reporter so I am handy with it.

A lot less Spooked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ineffable – 4/?**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Kara Kent, Clark Kent

Rating: PG-13 (Cause Chloe has in internal potty mouth when I write her for some reason)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: A sprinkling of profanity so far though I expect it to get much more adult down the line. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Chloe woke to her alarm at 10:30 feeling surprisingly refreshed after her long night. At least she felt good until she tried to sit up and flopped back down in agony. Okay, that wasn't going to work at all. Gasping from the pain Chloe carefully rolled over and used her right arm to push up into a seated position. The pain was actually worse this morning. Her whole body ached. Okay she definitely needed some pain medication. She hadn't filled the prescription the doctor gave her so Ibuprophen would have to do for now. Shaking two pills out of the bottle she swallowed them, then thought what the heck and took two more.

Remembering that she was supposed to have visitors she showered and got dressed as quickly as she could. She would rather not let her visitors see her coming down from her apartment if at all possible. Throwing on a dash of lipstick and grabbing her laptop and cell she headed downstairs to wait at the Talon for her mysterious rescuers.

"Good morning Kara"

"Morning Chloe" Kara replied pouring her a cup of coffee without asking.

Chloe was actually glad to see the Kryptonian girl working that morning. If her guests turned out to be creepy, she knew Kara would help her out if necessary. She didn't say anything to her specifically not wanted to invite nosy ears to listen in.

"This package came for you this morning. I signed for it for you" Kara said handing over the package.

Looking down at the return address Chloe raised an eyebrow. She wondered why she was getting a package from Queen Industries with a German over night postage on it. Obviously something the boys wanted her to look at. Taking a seat at a table in the corner which offered both privacy and a good view of the room Chloe booted up her lap top.

Glancing around the room and only seeing two regulars she figured she had some time to waste and opened the package. She could always run it upstairs if it was sensitive information. Slicing open the package with her apartment key she pulled out the bubble wrapped item. A piece of paper was taped to the package.

Chloe,

I know you said not to bother with this, but I actually had a lot of fun tinkering with it. I hope it helps you out with your current project.

Stay out of trouble,

Victor

p.s. If I don't hear from you every 12 hours or so I will be sending in the calvery.

Chloe unwrapped the bubble wrap laughing. "Oh wow. Victor, you are a god." Chloe grinned as what she could only assume was an EMF reader was revealed. Then she laughed again holding her left hand against her sore ribs when she got a good look at the display. Well now if only I knew how to read German.

Chloe checked her email. She had a short note from Oliver that said nothing important. It basically just acknowledged her note from yesterday. She sent a short note to Victor thanking him for his help and assuring him that she had someone who knew what they were doing coming to help her.

Going up to the counter she snuck behind to grab pencil and paper. Pouring herself another cup of coffee she headed back to her seat. She quickly sketched out the display for the reader on the paper and pulled up a German/English dictionary in her web browser. Would have been nice if you included translations Victor she thought.

Turning on the device she quickly worked through its functions. Well at least he put the on screen information in English. Once she learned where to put her settings it shouldn't be too hard to work with. It only displayed temperature in Celsius, but she could work with that. She really would be searching for a temperature differential not a specific temperature.

She was so intent on what she was doing that she did not notice when someone came to stand by her table. She gave a small start when someone cleared their throat. She gritted her teeth as the movement made her ribs ache again.

"Excuse me" a gentle voice interrupted her.

Chloe looked up, and up, and up. There was a giant of a man looming over her standing beside her table. Wow he is so hot! Chloe blinked several times but the man before here did not disappear. He was standing with his shoulders slightly hunched and his hands down and open at his sides. Here was a man who knew he could intimidate on size alone and was trying to appear harmless. Well he had another thing coming if he thought his huge frame was going to intimidate her. Clark was a giant too and Chloe never let him intimidate her even with all his gifts. She was used to being surrounded by tall freaks of nature. Oliver was disgustingly tall too.

"Um hi" Chloe answered. Oh just brilliant Chlo, impress the man with your wit why don't you. Chloe cleared her throat and tried again. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you were Spooked" he replied.

Chloe could not believe her luck. This gorgeous guy must be Stan or his brother. Wow, she should play the lottery this week too.

"Well not currently no, but if you check back with me later tonight I am sure I can drum up a mild level of terror for you. You must be Stan."

"Yeah. Could I…" he gestured to the seat across from her.

"Oh sure. How did you know who I was?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Well this" he stated pointing at the reader "and this" pointing to her face then trailing a finger down his left check. "You look like someone who was thrown around recently".

Looking down with a blush Chloe tried to gather her wits about her. "I had forgotten about the bruise. I'll have to cover it up before we head out later. You said your brother was coming with you. Is that him over there?" Chloe asked spotting a stranger on the other side of the room.

"I decided to come over and check if it was you first" he stated.

Chloe did a double take of his brother. "Oh my god, we have to get your brother out of here before Lana or Clark sees him".

"What?" Stan asked startled.

"Seriously, we have to get your brother out of here now. I will explain follow me" Chloe stated.

Chloe didn't want to take two strange men up to her apartment but Lana came in here frequently enough that it was definitely a concern. Clark or Lana either one might still be at the farm. That really just left the theater. "I'll be right with you".

Chloe got the keys to the theater from Kara and a refill on her coffee. One good thing about Kara was she didn't know enough about human behavior to find any of this strange, or more likely she found all human behavior strange.

Chloe went back to her table to find both brothers there waiting. Chloe gathered her things wincing a little as she bent over. Jangling the keys she led them through the back and into the theater area.

They guys took seats in the front row while Chloe leaned back against the stage facing them.

"I want to thank you guys for coming here to help me out. My name is Chloe Sullivan, welcome to Smallville, land of the weird and home of the oblivious" Chloe said in her best tour guide voice.

Stan smiled and his brother smirked at that.

"I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean. Now why are we hiding him?" Sam asked.

"Well now that I am getting a closer look at him it will be okay. The resemblance is remarkable, but there are enough differences. Once I make a few calls to clear the way it will be fine. Just don't be surprised if people call you coach Teague and act like you came back from the dead" Chloe explained.

"I don't mind one bit hiding out with a beautiful lady like you" Dean said with a sexy grin.

"Rein it in cowboy" Chloe snarked back. "Ghost hunting now, flirting later Tex. Though frankly you look way too much like Jason for my liking. I am so not into necrophilia."

"I'll show you just how alive I am sweetheart" he parried back with a leer.

"Dean!"

"Sammy"

"Ignore him please" said Sam.

Chloe nodded and pulled a file folder out of her laptop case and handed it to Sam. Well accustom to disseminating information to men Chloe felt on firm footing here. She went through her research with them. She was mollified to notice that both of them were paying attention to her every word. They both asked questions about both her research and her interactions with the ghost itself.

Chloe told them about the video which showed nothing. They were more interested when she played the audio recording. Mostly it was just her and Angela, but there was the one sound of pain when she hit it with the rock salt.

"You are sure that you found everything there was to find at the local paper?" Sam asked.

"I am pretty sure. I went through tons of hard copy just to find that one incident. If we backtracked any of my research that would be the one thing I would redo. It's not out of the realm of possibility that I missed something just through sheer fatigue. I have been doing nothing but research for 3 days straight. Between figuring out how to be a ghost buster and trying to figure out who the actually ghost was I have done little else. Then add to that my regular work load and I feel like a research slave right about now" Chloe said. She had just finished that 33.1 work for the League the day before.

Her ribs were starting to ache something fierce from leaning against the edge of the stage so long. Chloe sat down one seat over from Sam with a hiss.

"Are you okay Chloe?" Sam asked. "Where are you hurt?"

"It's nothing I am just sore. Don't worry about it" Chloe said. "My friend sent me his prototype EMF reader; we should test it out for him if we get a chance." Chloe said to deflect Sam's attention.

"Let me take a look at that," Dean said. "What is that? German? Why did he make it in German?"

"Just to piss you off?" Chloe said with a grin. "No actually he is currently in Germany. I guess he had to use local parts."

Sam allowed her to change the subject, but Chloe felt his eyes on her. She turned and caught his gaze with a smile. God he had beautiful eyes. She could see that he really was concerned for her and that made her feel warm inside. She blushed and averted her gaze to Dean. She showing him the cheat sheet she had made for the reader.

"I am going to step over there and make a few calls to warn a few people about Dean before we hit the streets. We can go somewhere for breakfast when I am done."

"Sounds good" Dean said. "I'm starved".

"Dude you ate an entire bag of Doritos on the way you. How can you be hungry?" Sam said.

Chloe walked over to the other side of the theater and placed a call the Clark. Her eyes kept wandering back to Sam. Damn he was good looking; she would definitely have to watch her heart around this one.

"Hey Chloe" Clark answered.

"Good morning Clark. How are things on the farm?"

"Everything is just fine here" he replied.

"Listen, the reason I am calling is I need to warn you and Lana about something. It's nothing bad, just something you should know before she gets a shock".

"Okay" he said sounding reticent. "Lana is in Metropolis with Nell right now, but I will pass on the message when she gets home".

"That sounds great Clark. Okay you know that little problem I was dealing with right. Well what we did the other day didn't take care of it. So I went back online to try and get some more ideas". Glancing up she saw that Dean was still looking at the EMF. Sam however was looking at her. Chloe smiled at his blushing a little bit at the intensity of his gaze.

"Chloe?"

"Oh sorry Clark, I got distracted a second. So, I found this one site and posted a question on a message board that I found".

"Do you need help with your new plan then?" Clark asked.

"No actually. You see, my help came to me." Chloe coughed knowing Clark was going to be difficult about this. "They drove all night to get here and help me with the ghost".

"They are there now? Where are you Chloe?"

"Clark I am a big girl, I can handle myself. I don't think I am going to need your help. I am just calling to warn you that one of the brothers is almost identical to Jason Teague. I thought it might freak Lana out to bump into him on the street so wanted to give her a heads up. Also, I know that with the incident between your parents and Jason you are not his biggest fan either".

"Are you sure it is not him Chloe, stranger things have happened".

"I am sure Clark. He is older and while the resemblance is striking, they are not identical" Chloe asserted.

"We are about to head out to grab some breakfast so I just wanted to make sure and warn Lana before we went out in public" Chloe explained.

"Bring them over to the farm and you can have breakfast here."

"Clark!" Chloe said sternly.

"Come on Chlo, you know I am going to worry about you unless I meet them. It would be better than taking him through town anyway" Clark said trying to persuade her.

Chloe sighed in defeat. She just wasn't going to be able to win this battle. It was better to just concede defeat and try to get in and out as fast as they could. "All right all right, we will head that way, but No threatening them. I mean it. They are doing me a huge favor by coming here to help me. They went out of there way and drove all night just to get here".

"See you soon Chloe" Clark said and hung up. She noted the lack of a promise to behave and rolled her eyes.

Crossing back over to the brothers Chloe said, "Well I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have a nice quiet place to have breakfast. The bad news is that during said breakfast my overprotective best friend is probably going to flex at you and threaten you with some creative death if you allow me to get hurt".

Both of the brothers looked highly amused at that. Chloe smiled to herself. If they only knew.

"Okay let's roll"

Sam quickly cut Chloe off and picked up her gear for her. Chloe reached out to take her laptop case from him, but he just arched an eyebrow at her and gestured for her to lead the way out.

Chloe decided to ride with the brothers. She knew Clark wouldn't be happy about that. She really didn't care at the moment. Her side was a throbbing ache that just wouldn't go away. Driving would just put more strain on the injury and she had a feeling she had a long day ahead of her.

She had a good feeling about Sam and Dean anyway. Her hero detector went off for both of them. She figured if anyone could make a judgment call on something like that it was her. She was a walking talking hero magnet. She was also a trouble magnet, but that just came with the territory. Knowing Clark, he would be out looking for her if she didn't show up shortly anyway. Her new cell phone was Queen Industries so if Clark called Victor or Oliver they could track her with the GPS chip anyway. So all things considered it wasn't worth the bother of taking two vehicles. She had her tazer in her purse anyway, hey she wasn't stupid.

Chloe headed over to her car and popped the trunk to grab her duffle. No sooner than she started to pull it out a large gentle hand closed over hers.

"Let me get that for you" Sam said softly over her shoulder. His breath stirred tendrils of her hair he leaned in so close to grab it.

Chloe gasped a little in surprise. God he smelled good she thought. Turning her head she looked up into his eyes and said a little breathily. "Um, thanks Sam".

How could a man that large move so quietly? She really shouldn't have been surprised by him coming to carry things for her. He had obviously figured out she was more injured than she was letting on. Though she had a feeling he would have done it anyway. He stuck her as a real gentleman as well as a gentle man. She stifled an impulse to lean back into the warmth of his body.

After pulling the duffle over his shoulder he leaned in a bit closer to examine the contents of her trunk. "That is a lot of gear you have there Chloe" He said with a laugh.

Hearing Sam's comment, Dean came over to look inside as well. "Damn girl, what all do you have in here. Is that a grenade?"

Chloe grinned up at him. "A girls gotta be prepared right?"

"I think I'm in love" Dean said with a sexy smile as he slouched against the side of her car.

"Down Romeo you're wasting your time, necrophilia remember." Chloe shot back at him. He was just a bit too cocky for her tastes. She liked her guys kinda sweet and clueless, not aggressively sexy.

"Give me an hour and I'll show you just how alive I am" Dean quipped.

"Dean! Let's get going" Sam said as he stepped in between the two of them throwing his brother a glare.

Throwing his hands up in surrender Dean laughed. "Alright, let's go".

As they pulled up in front of the Kent house Chloe saw Clark standing on the porch in his shirt sleeves. Anyone else would be freezing standing there, but Clark looked calm as he could be. Chloe slid out of the back seat with a soft groan as she straightened up. Wrapping her coat tightly around her Chloe headed up the path towards the comfort of the house.

Obviously Clark caught a hint about the chill because he rubbed his hands together as if to warm them. "Let's all get in out of the cold for introductions" he said holding the door open.

"Clark this is Sam and Dean. Guys this is my best friend Clark Kent" Chloe introduced them.

"Sam Gunn" Sam offered shaking Clarks hand.

Clark turned to shake Dean's hand and stopped half way in shock. "Wow, Chloe wasn't kidding. You look just like coach". Clark shook his head briefly as if to clear his mind.

"Is Lana going to be home soon? Did you get a chance to talk to her?"

"No to both questions. I wanted to explain to her in person when she got home. She should be gone most of the day anyway" Clark explained.

"It smells good in here Clark" Chloe said sniffling bacon in the air.

They all sat down to a nice breakfast of Eggs, bacon, toast and fresh cut fruit. It was probably a second breakfast for Clark. Knowing him he had been up at 6am.

"Where does he put it all?" Chloe asked Sam in a stage whisper. She was amazed at how much food Dean put away. He ate a small mountain of bacon and eggs and not a single piece of fruit passed his lips.

Chloe contented herself with fruit and toast nibbling more than eating. She wasn't very hungry due to the ache in her side. She was maintaining a very low level nausea so far this morning. She did however drink cup after cup of coffee.

"So Chloe, what is up with the spirit, I thought we got rid of it yesterday" Clark asked.

"Not sure at this point we are going to hit the historical society today and see if we can get more background on the house" she explained.

"There are several reasons why salting and burning the body may not have worked" Sam explained. "It could be misidentification of the spirit. Usually a spirit this malicious is manifest and you can pick out the right person by picture or description. According the Chloe this spirit isn't manifest so we can't really be certain of the identification. It is possible that there is some remaining bit of his biological matter somewhere. It could be a lock of hair, or toenail clippings that keep him bound to earth. The last option I am thinking about is that he is bound to an item instead of his physical body. That is rarely the case, but we have seen it before. So the best thing we can do at this point is more research. We need to find out more about the house and more about Harold so we might guess at object he would have valued greatly. If he was murdered his murder weapon could possibly be his link as well."

"The good news is we have time on our side. Ghosts are almost always tied to a location. Chloe's friend is staying somewhere else, so we don't have to worry about anyone's safety" Dean said. "I would like to check out the house before dark as well."

"We can't be one hundred percent certain we are dealing with a vengeful spirit at this point either, though it seems highly likely" Sam concluded.

"Let me know if you need any help Chloe" Clark said hugging her close. "How is your rib today? Have you been resting like the doctor ordered?"

"I took a nice nap yesterday and all I will be doing today is research. I won't do more than I have too" Chloe said.

"You have been doing too much" Clark stated knowing a Chloe style evasion when he heard one. Despite her attempts to bat his hands away he lifted the side of her shirt to take a closer look. Bruises covered torso from being tossed around. "How bad does this hurt? Is it worse than yesterday?"

"I am fine Dr. Kent. I was cleared from the hospital remember" Chloe said sharply slapping his hands away.

"You need to take it easy or you will aggravate that rib". He grabbed an icepack from the freezer and gently pushed Chloe down onto the couch pressing the icepack to her left side. "Just sit there for a while okay."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yes mom!" She had to admit the ice felt wonderful. She smiled up at him as he laid a throw blanket over her.

Clark took Dean into the kitchen and started talking to him in a low voice.

Sam sat down next to her looking concerned. "We can take it from here Chloe. You should go home and rest. I didn't realize you were so injured".

"Not you too" Chloe groaned.

"I just don't want you to be hurt again Chloe" Sam said holding her gaze seriously.

"Don't worry about me Sam. I have been getting into and out of trouble all by myself for years. Plus we are just doing research today. I'll be sitting in a chair most of the day".

Dean came back into the room with a grin on his face. "I think I just got the obligatory 'you let her get hurt you die' speech".

"Sorry about that" Chloe grimaced.

"Your boyfriend over there is very concerned with your well being" Dean said.

"We are just friends, he has a girlfriend".

"I have to say both of you are taking all of this rather calmly." Sam said when Clark came back into the room with a couple of books in hand.

"Weird is the norm around here Sam" Chloe explained. "This is not our first ghost. We have seen far weirder stuff that this".

"When we have more time I would really like to hear about your particular flavor or weirdness as you put it" Sam said.

"Chloe has been possessed by a ghost 3 or 4 times now" Clark said.

"Three of four?" Dean said incredulously. "I know Sammy said something about slutty witches last night, but I have never heard of someone possessed 4 times".

Chloe glared at Clark. "It wasn't 4 times. There was the slutty witch, that lasted about 6 hours. Then there was the suicidal depressive. God that one lasted way too long, it felt like days but it was less than 24 hours. I really don't want to talk about that". Chloe shuddered. "I really started to think I was loosing my mind".

Clark shifted uneasily as she talked about it. "You weren't loosing your mind Chloe. You are the sanest person I know".

Chloe looked down in surprise as she felt Sam's hand slide under the throw and close around hers comfortingly. She looked up at him with a tentative smile squeezing his fingers.

"You forgot revenge of the prom Queen Chloe" Clark grinned.

"You had to remind me of that" Chloe groaned and explained for the benefit of the brothers. "I got possessed by a disgruntled prom queen wanna be when I won what she thought was rightfully her crown. She tried to go all Carrie on the school using my body" Chloe explained.

"You were prom queen?" Dean laughed.

"Yuck it up laughing boy, I only won on the outsider vote." Chloe said with a glower. "Wipe that smile off your face Mr. Kent. I seem to remember a 6'3" quarterback snarling 'That crown is mine bitch!' at me. You wore it so much better than I did".

"I don't remember a single thing that happened when she had me" Clark said.

"Well neither do I".

"She possessed quite a few people around town before she finally left. Luckily the people she took over don't remember anything that happened while there were possessed" Clark explained. "She traveled from person to person by touch".

"Just to be on the safe side I would feel better if you checked out Chloe's apartment while you are here. That is where the other incident occurred. The body is no longer there, and I think the spirit is at rest. I just never want her to have to go through that again. It's also where the incident with the 16th century witches started".

Chloe smiled as Sam gently squeezed her hand again comfortingly.

"Yes tell us about the slutty 16th century witches. Now there is a story I want to hear" Dean smirked.

"Sorry you will have to ask Clark about that one. I was out for the whole thing. I don't remember anything from that possession. I just remember waking up on the floor of a cave in highly inappropriate clothing having missed my entire birthday party."

Chloe leaned back and closed her eyes as Clark told the story. She noted that he did edit it a bit, but figured he gave them the information that was relevant to them. The ice was definitely helping to dull the pain in her ribs. She also didn't fail to notice that Sam was still holding her hand. His thumb was idly rubbing back and forth across it.

"So where is this spell book that started the whole thing?" Sam asked Clark.

"We burnt it that is what broke the spell and freed the girls" Clark explained.

"It burnt in a regular fire?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"It was a really hot fire."

"So the Jason in that story is the one I am supposed to look like. He was the one dating your girl friend" Dean asked.

"Yes" Clark answered and flipped open one of the books he had brought in handing it to Dean.

"That is just freaky. Look at this Sammy" Dean said handing over the book.

Chloe missed the warmth of his hand when he let go to take the book.

"Dean this is you 6 years ago. If I didn't know better I would think this was a picture of you. The cheekbones are a little different and I think your eyes are darker than his. Other than those two things he is like your younger twin. That is so weird" Sam said looking disturbed.

"That is enough of that" Dean said standing up quickly. "Let's go check out this haunted house". With those words Dean headed out to the car.

"I am sorry Clark; he doesn't mean to be rude. I think he is just weirded out. Thank you for breakfast it was a pleasure to meet you" Sam said shaking Clarks hand again.

Sam leaned down and offered Chloe a hand up. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes I will join you at the car in a minute" She replied.

Chloe turned to Clark with a stern eye. "I am fine so you don't have to worry about me. I have a real good feeling about them."

Clark hugged Chloe gently. "I do too; still promise me you will be careful. Watch out for that Dean character, he is a dog."

"You'll get no arguments out of me on that one, but he seems harmless" Chloe grinned.

"I have a feeling that is not the brother that has caught your eye anyway" Clark teased her gently.

"Oh hush you!" Chloe said with a blush as she headed out to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ineffable – 5/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester

Rating: PG-13 almost R (Adult Language, Violence and Sexual situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Adult language, violence and sexual situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

The ride over to Angela's house was spent in awkward silence. Sam tried to start a conversation but Dean just snapped at him. Chloe decided it was best just to give directions and stay quiet to keep the peace.

She rested her hand on Sam's right shoulder for a moment and gave it a brief squeeze to let him know it was fine. When they pulled up to the house Chloe hazarded a comment.

"When I first came here I was a bit shocked. One wouldn't expect a haunted house to look so blasted cheery. I bet she even plants flowers out front in the spring" Chloe said trying to break the ice. "But you don't live in Smallville long without figuring out that beautiful can be deadly".

Sam arched an eyebrow at her on that last comment. She just grinned back.

Chloe unlocked the front door and paused for a moment to take a deep slow breath.

"You don't have to go in there Chloe" Sam said. "We can handle it from here."

"No it's okay I am just being silly. Its broad daylight and you guys are here with me this time".

Pushing the door open Chloe stepped into the living room. The brothers followed her inside.

"Well I can't say much for your friend's house keeping" Dean said pushing a piece of shattered lamp with his toe.

Chloe chose to ignore him. "Both nights he first appeared in the living room. We were both in the living room the first night. I was in the kitchen the second night, but he still appeared in the living room from what I could tell."

Sam glanced over and saw the recliner in the circle of salt and chuckled. "I take it that is where you were last night when we were talking? I was feeling so bad for you stuck unable to move in a circle of salt on the floor. Guess you planned ahead".

"I spent the first night on the cold linoleum with my friend unconscious in my lap all night. That was not such a wonderful experience that it would bear repeating. I thought I had the ghost taken care of, but it still warranted a bit of preparation in case I was wrong. Glad I took the time to set myself up better" Chloe explained.

Sam pulled out his EMF and started scanning the house. "We definitely have something here in the living room Dean" Sam called out to his brother.

Chloe went out to the car and unpacked her new EMF. Victor would never forgive her if she didn't field test it while she had the opportunity. Turning it on she walked into the living room and it emitted a series of soft musical tones. The tones got closer and father apart as she walked around the room. She watched the reading on the dial. When the reading went up, the tones got closer together. Chloe looked up to see both brothers watching her.

"Looks like my new reader works. Victor will be happy to hear it" Chloe said.

Sam handed his EMF to Dean and crossed to Chloe. "Mind if I test it out?"

"Sure have at it. The more it's tested the better. I am sure we will end up with a couple for… the gang just in case" Chloe said.

"Gang?"

"Group of friends…"

Sam looked at her intently for a moment. "Why don't you go sit down in your recliner there for a while and rest while Dean and I check this place out. It's going to take a while and there really isn't much you can do to help at this point."

"I'm fine really" Chloe protested.

"Chloe" Sam said her name in a quiet tone. It wasn't commanding or pleading, yet somehow it made her want to comply with his wish. She looked up to meet his eyes and saw nothing but warmth and concern in them.

"Alright" She said sitting down and kicking back with the chair reclined.

Sam walked into the kitchen and came back with an icepack he must have gotten out of the freezer. He handed that to her and picked up a throw laying it over her once she had the ice on her side. "Just take it easy for a while, we will have a lot of research to do later" He smiled at her warmly.

Chloe contented herself with observing, though she didn't have to like it. The guys went upstairs and Chloe closed her eyes to rest for a moment.

"Chloe" Chloe felt a gentle touch on her face. "Chloe can you wake up for me?" Déjà vu, didn't this happen just yesterday?

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty" added another voice.

Chloe woke abruptly once her brain came on line. Oh right Sam and Dean. She opened her eyes to see Sam kneeling beside her chair. "Goodness I am so sorry, I must have fallen asleep" Chloe yawned.

"It's okay, we are done here for now" Sam said.

Sam pulled her up out of the chair and started gathering up their equipment.

"Some of us have been working" Dean shot at Chloe.

"Some of us didn't get much sleep last night. Well now that I think about it none of us did" Chloe said. "So did you find anything?"

"Nothing that was really useful" Dean answered.

"Okay where do you two want to head from here?" She asked.

"It's getting late already" Dean replied. "We need to check in with the historical society and talk to the neighbors still. I really don't want to try and confront the spirit tonight. I think a good night's sleep would benefit us all."

Chloe glanced at her watch 4:30 in the afternoon already. "Sounds like a good plan. I think it would be best to leave the historical society until tomorrow. The office will be closing shortly anyway. This is a great time to try and catch people at home however. Why don't we try the neighbors and see if anyone is home now. Once we talk to anyone who is home this time of day we can go eat dinner. Then we can try back afterwards and catch those that work days." Chloe suggested.

"That works for me" Sam replied. "Dean?"

"Okay that works. You can go back to your nap if you want sleeping beauty" Dean smirked.

"Why would I do that?" Chloe asked. She reached into her purse and pulled out her Daily Planet press pass. Okay so it was out of date, but no one else had to know that.

"I really want to get that research done for the story I am doing on local history" Chloe said blinking innocently at Dean. With a wicked grin she stepped out the front door. "I'll take the house on the right".

Chloe wished she was wearing a suit but figured it probably would be okay. Walking down the sidewalk she peaked back over her shoulder to find both of the brothers staring at her. Turning back around she smiled to herself, score one for Chloe.

No one was at home next door so Chloe crossed the street and checked there. An elderly gentleman answered the door. Chloe spoke with him for several minutes before she noticed that he wasn't tracking with the conversation. He seemed to be having difficulty remembering what they were talking about at all. He really was a dear old thing and she hated to cut him off, but Chloe knew she had things to do. I hope someone else lives with him she thought as she walked away.

She jotted a note down on her pad to tell Angela about her sweet neighbor. Chloe was certain Angela would keep an eye on the old man. The boys were sitting on Angela's porch waiting so she crossed the road to speak with them.

"No luck here, just an old man with failing memory. How did you two do?" She asked.

"Nothing here either, let's grab dinner" Sam suggested.

"I have a better idea" Dean said. "I am going to drop you guys off in town. It doesn't take all three of us to question a handful of neighbors. That way we can get more research done at the same time".

"Do you want to stop for dinner?" Chloe asked.

"I'll grab a burger on the way back. It will take about an hour to drop you guys off anyway" Dean said.

Dean dropped them off by Chloe's car. Chloe felt more relaxed now that it was just the two of them. "Are you hungry Sam?"

"I could use something to eat" he admitted.

Chloe looked at him silently for a long moment then made a decision. Deep inside she felt he was safe. More than that even, she felt safe with him, protected.

"Come on then" she said heading into the Talon and upstairs to her apartment. She could tell he was surprised when she opened the door.

"I never would have guessed there was an apartment up here." He commented.

"Make yourself at home Sam. Would you like a beer?" she asked. She handed him one when he nodded.

"Opening her laptop she pulled up her research files and turned the screen towards him. Feel free to take a look while I figure out something for dinner. Please don't go snooping around my files. There are some confidential work documents on there" Chloe said as she headed into the kitchen.

"I promise I won't" He said. "Two home cooked meals in one day, I may just have died and gone to heaven. Check me for a heartbeat".

"No zombies in my kitchen mister" she said as she threatened him with a spatula. Then she paused and looked at him. "Zombies?"

"Real"

"Damn," She said "That is so creepy".

"Zombies are kind of rare so I wouldn't worry about them too much" he smiled.

"How do you feel about chicken tacos?" she asked. "It's either that or chicken casserole. The tacos would be quicker."

"Tacos sound great Chloe, thank you".

Chloe shredded the leftover chicken into a skillet and added spices to simmer while she worked on the rest. She pulled out tomatoes, lettuce and cheese for toppings. She was grating the cheese when she felt him come up behind her. He was such a big man she felt almost pinned between the counter and Sam.

"Can I help out with any of that?" he asked.

"I…sure if you like" she stuttered turning to look up at him. "You could dice the tomatoes". She stayed there with her back to the counter looking up at him unable to move.

Sam raised his hand and tucked a curl behind her ear. His big dark eyes locked with hers intensely. He is going to kiss me. Oh yes please kiss me Sam she thought. He licked his bottom lip and took a half a step towards her then leaned over her to grab a knife from the block behind her. He turned and set it on the cutting board then washed his hands before starting to chop.

Chloe let out a huff of breath and quickly turned back around to face the counter. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. What was she thinking? What would a man like him see in her? He had been kind, gentle and protective because that was his nature, not because he felt anything for her. She felt like such a fool.

Dinner was ready quickly. They sat down at the table working and eating in easy concert. He was smart, kind, sexy, protective and a hero. So basically he was just about damn perfect. Chloe closed her eyes and mentally shored up her defenses. He wasn't interested, so she needed to keep this professional.

She grabbed the Ibuprophen bottle off the table and shook out four. She was just about to take them when his hand held hers and opened the fingers gently.

"Four Chloe, why didn't you say you were hurting so much? Didn't the doctor give you something for the pain?" he asked.

"I haven't had a chance to fill the prescription yet. I don't want my head to be clouded anyway. It's not a big deal" she stated.

Sam simply rolled his eyes and grabbed an icepack out of her freezer. He came over and knelt beside her chair. Placing the ice pack on the table he looked at her. "Let me take a look" he requested pulling the chair and her out from the table with little effort.

"Sam… I"

"shhhhhh"

He gently lifted the edge of her shirt checking out her side. He ran his fingers gently over her skin where the livid bruises stood vibrant against her pale skin. His fingers traveled over her stomach categorizing all of the bruises on her torso. Her skin felt heated in the wake of his trailing touch. This was in no way helping her to keep this on a professional level. "He really tossed you around. This is going to hurt. I need you to let me know if it hurts worse than it did when the doctor pushed on it yesterday."

He gently prodded her ribs causing pain to flare through her body. Chloe grasped his wrist and pulled his hand away with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry." he said as he wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Was it worse than yesterday?"

When she nodded he crossed to get his duffle bag. He pulled out a t-shirt and wrapped it around the icepack. They using an ace bandage from his bag he wrapped it around her rips holding the icepack against the worst of the bruising.

"What time does that pharmacy down the road close?"

"Six I think. Sam you don't need to.." she stopped when he rested his fingers over her lips.

"I'll be right back. Don't take that Ibuprophen" he said. He grabbed her prescription and headed for the door.

"Wait Sam" she said grabbing some money out of her wallet she handed it to him.

"Thanks"

As she watched him leave Chloe thought to herself. Stupid over protective moronic testosterone driven heroes! She had plenty of stupidly tall men trying to protect her already. Oh shit! Victor.

Sliding her laptop over Chloe opened up her email and grimaced. There were three messages from Victor, one from Oliver, one from Lois and even one from Clark. She was so in for it.

With a sigh she decided to save the one from Lois for last. It was likely to be the only enjoyable one of the bunch. She opened the one from Oliver first.

Looks like Oliver was grumpy. They hadn't been able to find the proof they felt necessary to blow the facility. Apparently the lack of explosive goodness was making their emerald clad leader pissy. Chloe jotted off a note to him promising to keep a cyber eye on the location and to put another reconnaissance on the schedule the next time the team was in Europe. Or at the very least she would have Impulse do a run by.

Next she opened the ones from Victor.

The first one said something to the affect of. Two short sentences does not a check in make. He threatened to call out the cavalry if he didn't get a better update.

The second one, two hours after the first said. I know you better than you think I do Watchtower. You aren't telling me everything. Come clean or you are in big trouble lady.

The third one was dated about 50mins ago. Okay I'm calling Boy Scout to check on you. I know you will probably be irritated with me but right now we are too far away from you to mount a rescue. I want to make sure you are safe. He added a post script asking how the EMF worked.

Chloe sighed; sometimes they treated her like a child. She opened the one from Clark and had to smile for once. Apparently he had reassured Victor that everything was fine. He kept her cracked rib to himself as well. He asked her to contact Victor soon anyway to reassure the guy. He made a few comments about breakfast and asked for an update on the ghost situation. She sent him a few lines explaining what they found, which was a big fat nothing really.

Chloe started a note to Victor telling him how the investigation was going. She told him in no uncertain terms that she was an adult. A two sentence check in saying she was okay was plenty thank you very much. If she had more to say at the time she would have.

She told him briefly about the guys who showed up to help her with the ghost problem. She said that there would be nothing but research for the rest of the day and that she would get back with him sometime tomorrow afternoon. She concluded by letting him know that neither of the guys was there right now. However, they did field test the EMF today. I will talk with them about it and get back to him. In conclusion she asked that he called her next time instead of Clark or she would plant a virus in him.

Chloe was glad to have that over with, now for the good stuff. She opened Lois's email. Soon Lois had her giggling with her snarktastic view of life. Her story about the gentleman who didn't speak English trying to pick her up in the hotel bar was pure hilarious. From the sound of it, her brazen cousin was able to cut a man off at the knees even with a language barrier.

Sam opened the door and smiled brightly to find her giggling. "What has you in such a good mood"?

"Just my cousin, she sent me an email from Mexico. Let's just say she has an interesting take on get friendly with the natives" Chloe said.

Sam grabbed a glass of water and came over to her with it and a bag from the pharmacy. "Take these"".

"Sam, I really don't want to be muddle headed while we are doing research. I'll take them before bed" Chloe protested.

"Chloe please. Don't worry about the research. We will do as much as we can together. If you fall asleep for a bit I'll just spend the time catching up. I know you are hurting" He said.

"Fine. But don't let me sleep through to the night or I will wake up at 3am" she said swallowing the pills.

"Thank you".

Chloe grabbed her lap top and sat down on the couch. She pulled up some websites on local history. Sam was sitting at the table working as well. Every once in a while she would catch him looking at her and smiled.

"Hmmm, Sam come look at this a second please".

Once Sam sat down beside her she slid closer and placed her laptop half on each of their laps. "I don't know how much you know about Kansas state history but I am going to assume not much. I was thinking that maybe I focused the scope of my research too finely to start with. To keep it brief about 150 years ago there was a big battle fought over slavery in Kansas. This started even prior to the civil war. The time period was called 'Bleeding Kansas' for a reason. Murders and cold blooded assassinations were prevalent during that time period. Apparently things got very heated between the pro and anti slavery factions. The death toll was said to be in excess of 200 people. If you look here a Judge was killed on his country farm back in 1867. They don't give a name for the judge however. The deed lines aren't very clear, but just from the description it could not have been too far from where Angela's house now lies" Chloe said.

"You are brilliant" Sam said kissing her on the forehead. "This worries me however. Why is the ghost just appearing now? If he is tied to the land rather than a house then are the neighbors also in danger?"

"Angela told me that she got a fantastic deal on the house, so it may not be something just starting. It is also possible that previously he wasn't much of an issue. Angela is more vulnerable to him because of her gift I think. She could sense him very intensely. He was very unpleasant to live with, but never physically violent with her. He didn't actually become violent until I threatened to make him leave. So it is possible that he has been there for a long time. It may be that only someone sensitive would have felt more than uneasy in the home".

"That is a pretty good theory. Can we find more information on this judge that was murdered?"

"Let's take a look" Chloe said leaning into his side to type in the search window.

Sam pulled his arm up out of her way and rested it on her shoulders looking down at her as she browsed through several pages quickly.

"Well this looks like it might be our fellow. He was a Kansas state judge who died in 1857" Chloe said tilting the screen up so he could see it better. She stayed leaning against his side, head against his shoulder as they both read from the page.

"Well he is definitely a likely suspect Chloe. Good work on this" Sam smiled down at her.

"Glad I could help Sam" Chloe said with a yawn.

"You should go to bed Chloe. It is getting close enough to night already and I know you were up late yesterday" Sam said though he made no move to get off the couch.

"Listen Sam. My cousin is out of town for the week, why don't you and Dean stay here with me. One of you can take Lois's bed and the other take mine. I'll just bed down here on the couch. It's very comfortable".

"That would be great Chloe but I insist on taking the couch" Sam said.

"Not a chance beanstalk. You're like 7 foot tall and I'm a Lilliputian. You would be miserable here and I have slept on it quite a few nights voluntarily. It's really not a problem. Just make sure to lock the door to the Talon up when Dean gets here okay" Chloe requested.

"You are something else Chloe Sullivan" Sam said.

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. His lips we warm and sweet tasting and felt just a little bit like heaven. He pulled back a bit and looked down at her.

Chloe ran her free hand up his chest and slid it into the soft hair on the back of his head pulling his mouth back to hers. His body was strong and solid beneath her hand. She heard him groan very softly before his lips returned to hers, still sweet but less gentle. His hand came up to her neck thumb resting along her jaw line. He tilted her head to slant her mouth to his as he continued placing sweet nibbling kisses on her lips. Chloe moaned softly at the feel of him warm and alive and extremely masculine against her. She leaned in closer against his chest wanting to feel more of his warmth. Turning a bit towards her Sam's other arm slide around her waist to pull her close. Chloe cried out in pain when he tried to tug her into his lap.

"Oh god, sorry sorry,… I'm so sorry Chloe" Sam gasped as he stroked the top of her head placing tender kisses on her forehead and cheek. "I didn't mean to hurt you".

"Shhhh" Chloe placed a short kiss on his lips. "It's okay Sam. I wasn't thinking about my ribs either" Chloe said with a bright smile.

Sam very gently gathered her close to rest her head on his shoulder again.

"I should call Dean anyway and let him know what we found and that we will be staying here tonight".

Chloe yawned again tucking her head into his shoulder.

"You're going to make me get up aren't you"?

"Fraid so".

"I thought that was what you were going to say. I am going to go get ready for bed. Feel free to use the shower or eat anything you want in the house."

Chloe came back out a short time later to find Sam still on the phone with Dean. She pulled out some clean sheets and laid a set on top of Lois's bed and a set on her own bed. Taking a third set she tucked them in around the couch cushions and made a bed for herself. Grabbing a spare blanket she was all set.

"I am going to let you guys put fresh sheets on yourselves. I didn't want to do that much bending over sorry" Chloe explained.

"Not to worry we can take care of ourselves" Sam said coming to stand beside her. "Take a seat".

Chloe took a seat on the couch and he kneeled in front of her and pulled her pajama top up until it was just under her breasts. Chloe inhaled, deeply conscious of the fact that unlike earlier she was not wearing a bra. Sam's hands were deft and gentle as he unwound the bandage from her ribs. The touch of his hands made her melt inside. How could someone she had known so short a time affect her so deeply? Knowing his fingers were just inches from her bare breasts was making it difficult to breath.

"You'll be more comfortable without this" he said.

He looked up from his work he let her shirt fall back down. Kneeling in front of her his mouth was almost even with her own. Slowly he lent towards her giving her plenty of time to pull away. She had no intention of doing so. She wanted to feel him lips against her again. She wanted to know what it would be like if he really kissed her.

Cradling her head in his hands he captured her lips with his. His lips were warm, sensual and mobile against hers. Chloe sigh in surrender as he leaned towards her and parted her lips with his tongue. Her lips fell open to his seeking tongue. She moaned her pleasure into his mouth as he thrust his tongue into hers. His kiss turned from sweet to carnal in an instant. Chloe was shocked at the strength of his passion as he devoured her lips possessively. Passion flared through her body burning hot and fast. Her head was swimming and she grew weak with desire. Chloe slid her right hand back into his silky hair pulling him closer still.

Chloe felt his hands sliding down her sides, his touch so gentle in comparison to his passionate devouring kisses. Pressing his hands flat against her hips he gently drew her body into his until they were resting against each other. His right hand cupped her hip and pressed her against his hard body while his left arm trailed up the middle of her back aligning with her spine to hold her close. He kept his hands well away from her injured side. The fingers of his left hand slid into the curls at the nape of her neck pulling on them. Chloe shuddered in pleasure at the sensation.

Chloe gave herself to the moment as he claimed her mouth. His lips left hers to trail kisses across her cheek and down her neck. He nibbled gently on her neck making her gasp in pleasure as his teeth scrapped deliciously across tender flesh.

"God Chloe, you are driving me mad" he said his voice rough with passion. He claimed her lips for another mind blowing kiss. "You make me feel things I haven't felt for a long time. Make me want things I have no business wanting".

His lips turned gentled against hers with a sweet slow passion. He placed a series of kisses across her lips and then on her forehead. Sam cleared his throat and spoke huskily "You should go to bed. Dean will be here before long".

"Sam. That felt so good. Kissing you feels so right" Chloe said.

"For me too Chloe, believe me I don't want to stop. I will be leaving in a few days and you are worth so much more than a one night stand" he explained. "I don't want to leave either of us with regrets".

"I understand Sam" Chloe sighed. This was just not the way the best kiss of your life was supposed to end. She appreciated that Sam cared enough for her to stop, but it still left her feeling aching and empty inside.

Chloe lay down on the couch sliding between the sheets. Sam covered her with a blanket and leaned down to kiss her goodnight. The touch of their lips sent a tingle through her and her lips parted instinctively. Sam groaned and deepened the kiss. For a few moments their lips entwined with delicious aching want before Sam pulled away again.

"You are a dangerous woman Chloe Sullivan".

"You are a helluva man Sam Gunn" Chloe replied.

Sam winced. "Winchester. It's Sam Winchester. We don't use our real names often. It's better to be untraceable when you follow trouble around and desecrate graves on a regular basis."

"Understandable Sam and you are still one helluva man Sam Winchester" Chloe said with a smile.

Chloe closed her eyes as Sam turned off the lamp and walked back over to the table and his laptop. She asked herself as she lay there drifting towards sleep. If they had the chance to be alone again, would she really want him to stop?


	6. Chapter 6

**Ineffable – 6/?**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester

Rating: PG-13 almost R (Adult Language, Violence and Sexual situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Adult language, violence and sexual situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Chloe woke up slowly to the scent of coffee. She inhaled the aroma lovingly. Living over a coffee shop did have its perks. Chloe deciding that it was probably best to get up. She slid her legs over off the couch and gently pushed herself up. Actually that didn't feel so bad. Both the bedroom doors were still shut so Chloe tried to be quiet. Sam and Dean really deserved a good night's sleep. She started a pot of coffee, and then headed into the bathroom for a quick wash.

Feeling better, but wishing she had a change of cloths she headed into the kitchen and poured herself a cup. Stretching experimentally she decided that while she was far from healed, she did feel a good bit better than yesterday. Guess the anti-inflammatory the doctor prescribed was of the good variety. She took two last night and it didn't knock her out too bad. Chloe decided to take two again this morning. The boys were still in bed anyway so it wasn't like she had to be moving at full speed yet. By the time there were up, showered and fed Chloe should be good to go. Taking her pills with a swig of coffee Chloe took stock of kitchen. Well they would defiantly need some more food if the guys were going to be around much longer.

Chloe pulled some OJ and sausage out of the freezer. She could get that made up ahead of time. Luckily the sausage was already in patties so she didn't need to defrost it. How many should she make? Dean ate enough for 3 people yesterday. With a shrug she put the rest of the package in a skillet on low so it would cook slowly enough to defrost and cook all the way through.

Opening the freezer again she pulled out some stew beef and popped it in the microwave to defrost. She could put some soup in the crock pot and it would be ready for lunch or dinner whenever they got back. Trying to move quiet Chloe threw ingredients into the crock pot while she sautéed the beef quickly. By the time the sausage was ready to be flipped the beef was done so Chloe tossed it in and left the crock on high. She would turn it to low just before they left.

Feeling very productive Chloe went to sit down at the table with her second cup of coffee. So what if she wasn't Susie homemaker. People didn't starve when she was around anyway. Truth to be told, Clark was a much better cook that she was.

It looks like the boys were up a while after she fell asleep. Chloe remembered Dean getting home and hearing them talk softly with each other. Reading through the notes they had left on the table she tried to get caught up to speed. It looked like they found more information on the Judge. The honorable judge Joshua Jefferies was on record as an abolitionist. There hadn't been a whole lot that could be found on him on line. They would probably have more luck at the historical society.

Maybe one or both of the boys could pose as the descendants of the Judge. If Dean flashed his baby blues, or what ever color they were, at Miss Lily he would have her eating out of his hand. In this case, a little bit of flirting would go a long way. Would serve the big old flirt right too. Chloe grinned just a bit maliciously. Miss Lily was quite a woman.

Chloe went into the kitchen and turned the heat down on the sausage to just barely keep it warm. It was almost done and she wanted it to hold until the boys were up. Grabbing an her icepack from the freezer she went back over to the couch and wrapped the ice pack in place as best as she could with the bandage Sam had left on the coffee table. Grabbing her laptop she went back to the kitchen table and set to work.

"Good lord woman, how is a man supposed to sleep with all these wonderful smells rolling through his bedroom" said a sleep ruffled Dean as he came out of Lois' room.

Chloe chuckled. "There is coffee in the kitchen if you want some. The mugs are in the cabinet right above it. Sam is still asleep so shhh"

Dean shuffled sleepily over to the table with his coffee. "What cha got there beautiful?"

"I am marking out where all the old graveyards are in the area. I think I know where most of them are, but we should probably check with Miss Lily and see if I have missed any. Most of the modern graveyards in the area don't go back that far. With my luck it will end up being some small family graveyard off in the middle of a field. It's still worth a look though I think" Chloe explained.

"That is a lot of graveyards. I don't think Sam and I would have found all of those" Dean said. "Sexy and smart, you sure you want to go for the dorkier brother"?

"Who said I was going for either of you?" Chloe quipped. "The bathroom is free if you want to grab a shower".

Dean grabbed some clothes out of his bag and headed into the bathroom. Chloe guessed her interest in Sam was more obvious than she thought. She looked at the closed door of her bedroom. He was just so sexy and sweet. He was tall, strong and broad chested. He almost made her feel as safe as Clark did. Somehow she just knew she could depend on him. How was a girl supposed to resist that?

Chloe was very happy that Sam was the one that spent the night in her bed. The thought of him resting there was oddly pleasing. It would have been weird to have Dean sleeping there. Lois wasn't going to care about Dean sleeping in her bed. Heck she would probably take one look at the man and jump right in with him. Chloe wasn't blind to Dean appeal. The man was sex on a stick. It was his personality that turned her off. Chloe grinned at the thought of Lois and Dean together. Oh yes, Lois would know how to handle the too smooth Don Juan.

Oh good lord, Chloe thought when Dean stepped out of the bathroom still pulling on his shirt. Chloe blinked at him as her eyes slowly climbed up his still moist body to catch twinkling green eyes smirking at her. Dammit! Chloe decided the best course of action was to ignore the fact he had just caught her looking at him like a hunk of meat. After all a girl could look, didn't mean she was going to touch.

"You hungry?" she asked then immediately wanted to slap herself for giving him that opening.

"You bet I am beautiful" Dean grinned.

Chloe rolled her eyes at him.

"We have Sausage and pancakes or Sausage, Eggs and Toast"

"Eggs please three of them" Dean said.

"I can't do over easy to save my life so how about scrambled with cheese?" she asked.

"That's sounds great sexy" Dean answered.

Chloe decided to make eggs for everyone. She figured Sam was the kind of guy to eat what you put in front of him anyway. She broke in the eight eggs left in the carton, then adding in the left over cheese, tomatoes and some thin sliced onion.

"You like tomatoes" she asked belatedly sighing in relief when he nodded. "Could you clear the table please?"

Once it was clear Chloe set the table for three and started the toast. Putting the eggs into a bowl and the sausage and toast on a plate she set it all on the table.

"Breakfast is ready" She said grabbing the OJ, three glasses and the carton of milk to put on the table as well.

Dean went over and pounded on the bedroom door loudly. "Sammy wake up breakfast." He got a grunt in response. He shrugged and sat down to eat piling his plate with food.

"Thanks beautiful".

Sam came in looking delightfully sleep tussled. Chloe smile at him warmly. "Good morning Sam, coffee is in the kitchen if you want some".

"Thanks Chloe" Sam said heading to pour a cup. He came back and took the last seat at the table. "Jerk" he tossed at his brother.

"Okay so what's the plan for the day" Sam asked.

"Well you guys stayed up later than I did, but I read through the notes you left. I am assuming from that you feel Judge Jefferies might be our spirit". When Sam nodded Chloe continued. "I still feel the historical society might be a good next stop. We are still guessing right now so I think we should do a measured strategy for this one. Dean I think you should go in alone and talk to Miss Lily. I think if you tell her you are looking for information on your great great grandfather or grand uncle Judge Jefferies she would respond favorably. Just flirt with her lightly like a good southern gentleman and you will have her eating out of your hand. You are just the right kind of guy" Chloe explained. It was an effort in will power to keep a straight face.

"What can I say the ladies love me" Dean said.

"Then if we need to take a different tact later, we still have Sam and me. She knows me and well frankly she doesn't care for me much. Apparently I am not her idea of a proper young lady. I might be able to get something out of her by saying I am researching a story however."

"You two can head out on the great gravesite hunt then. Chloe made a map with all the local graveyards on it. We can get a copy made and I'll see if Miss Lily can add anymore" Dean said.

"Works for me" Chloe said. "I'll take the map downstairs and make a copy now while Sam is in the shower. Just let me go get changed" Chloe said.

"Chloe wait" Sam said as she went to get up. "How are your ribs today?"

"They actually feel better today. Thank you for picking up my prescription. I think it's really helping. I already took my pills for this morning and iced it first thing so I should be good to go".

"Good" he said with a smile.

Throwing on some jeans and comfortable walking shoes Chloe headed downstairs and to made a copy of the map. Thank goodness Lana wasn't there. She would have made a short errand into a 15min conversation.

"I am going to go ahead and head out. I don't need to wait for slowpoke" Dean said.

"Ha ha" Sam said coming out of the bathroom dressed except for his shoes.

Chloe gave Dean directions to the historical society and wished him luck. Leaning back against the door Chloe counted to a slow 15 before she let the giggles rip.

"You just set him up didn't you" Sam said with a grin.

"Totally" she said gasping. "Miss Lily is going to have him tied up for hours. She is a lovely woman but escaping her is like slipping out of a boas grasp. I wasn't lying either, she is just going to adore Dean".

"Well since he usually makes me do all the little old ladies I am eternally thankful. Spending all morning tramping through graveyards with you sounds like heaven in comparison".

"Thankfully it's not quite as cold today so we should be fine with warm jackets".

While Sam put his shoes on Chloe went to gather her things. She felt him come up to stand close beside her. "Chloe"

Chloe turned to look up at him. "Sam"

Sam gently pulled her into his arms and leaned down to kiss her. His lips clung to hers sweetly with none of the passion from the night before. This kiss was a greeting and a tender message. It said I like you. I want to spend time with you. I want to hold you close. I will keep you safe.

Chloe kissed him back trying to respond in kind. Her lips said I care for you. You make me feel safe. I want to be near you. She melted into the sweetness of it as they kissed for long moments speaking to each other without words.

When the kiss started to bloom into gentle passion Chloe pulling back and cleared her throat. "We should get going" she said knowing if they didn't they would spend the morning kissing each other until they lost control of the fire between them."

"You're right we should" he said resting his chin on top of her head. He took a couple long breaths and then let her go heading for the door.

Chloe and Sam spent a delightful morning checking graveyard after graveyard. The day was idyllic. The ground was covered in pristine white snow, but it was not overly chilly or windy. The sun was shining down making the whole world sparkle white and clean. They walked hand in hand through the quiet cemeteries checking grave stones for Judge Jefferies. They exchanged many chaste kisses as they moved along the resting places for the dead. They talked about many things. Conversation was easy for them rolling back and forth between them effortlessly. They found they had much in common. Both of them losing their mothers and raised with just a father. Both of them had investigating the strange from a young age. Though hers had been the more traditional upbringing she couldn't help but remember that she was the strange one. What would Sam think if he found out that she was meteor infected? Would he feel disgusted? Would he think she was dangerous?

They were about halfway down their list of graveyards when Dean finally called them. Sam turned on the speaker phone so they could all talk. Chloe had to step away and lean against a gravestone stifling her giggles when he described his morning with Miss Lily. Apparently not all was a loss for him though. He said she made just about the best sweet potato pie he had ever eaten. They agreed to meet back at the apartment and plan out the rest of the day from there.

"You are an evil woman" Sam said as he disconnected the call. "That was pure vicious of you. Man did he have it coming though!"

Chloe just smiled.

"I'll say it again. You are a dangerous woman Chloe Sullivan" Sam captured her lips again. His kiss was passionately intense this time; they broke apart panting resting their foreheads against each others.

"Damn" Chloe said. "I could kiss you all day".

"I know but Dean is waiting and we have a job to do" Sam said regretfully.

"Yeah"

They jumped into the car and drove back into town. Their hands found each other and entwined resting between them.

Dean was waiting for them when they got back home. They went upstairs and ate the soup Chloe had made for lunch.

"You are an evil woman Chloe" Dean said once they sat down at the table.

"So your brother keeps telling me, why do you say so" Chloe said with a grin.

"Miss Lily kept me there for hours talking about her cat and her bunions and how just how adorable I was. I would have left accept she kept dropping good information in between all the mindless drivel. She flirted and simpered and Pinched my ASS" Dean said his voice getting louder as he spoke.

Sam choked on his soup and walked into the bathroom shutting the door before breaking into laughter. "You will get yours next time bitch" Dean called after him.

Chloe suppressed her chuckles and forced a serious expression on her face. "I am sorry to do that to you Dean. We needed the information she could provide. If I had warned you I doubt I would have been able to get you to step a foot in that building. You were the best man for the job."

"Evil,… good soup though" Dean shot her an harassed look but continued eating.

Sam came back to the table when he had composed himself. "Did you get any useful information Dean?"

"From the information available, it looks like he was buried in a private cemetery on the property. It looks like the property lines back then looked something like this" Dean said. He pulled out the cemetery map that Chloe had made for them and there was a section highlighted on the map. It was about 460 acres of land.

"Oh man that is going to take forever to search" Chloe said. Now she was starting to wish the brothers weren't there. Clark could search that for her in a matter of minutes. It could take the rest of the day and maybe part of tomorrow to search all of that. Chloe sighed.

"Alright then let me pack up a few things for us and check my email and we can get started" Chloe said.

Sam coughed looking a little uncomfortable. "Chloe Dean and I talked last night. I,…We are not sure that you should go back to the property at all. Listen before you interrupt. You have already been possessed four times. Do you have any idea how rare that is? It is even rarer that you came out of them all in good physical condition. Someone possessed can come out of the possession damaged or drained. We think that you might be vulnerable to possession. Usually this would be someone weak of mind and spirit. Now that I have gotten to know you, that simply isn't the case. So the only other option I can think of is that you are a sensitive. Perhaps you are a natural medium" Sam said seriously.

"Sam, honestly it may just be a case of wrong place wrong time. I am constantly poking my nose into dangerous holes. Clark says I am a trouble magnet. If he wasn't constantly hauling my butt out of danger I wouldn't even be here to talk to you. You heard some of my stories this morning. It's not just ghosts that target me" Chloe said emphatically. "I want to help. I am going to help".

Sam sighed. "I had a feeling you would be stubborn about this. So I dug these out for you. These are protective charms. One protects from certain spells and bad mojo. The other is an anti-possession charm. It's aimed more against demonic possession that spirit possession. I want you to promise me to wear them always. Never take them off for the rest of your life. It's very important that you keep them on you always. Having the metal against your skin is best."

"I promise to wear them Sam. If it makes you worry less." Chloe said.

"I would like it even better if you got a tattoo like the ones we have" he said unbuttoning his shirt to show her his marking.

Chloe leaned over and ran her fingers over the mark studying it. Taking her cell phone out of her pocket she took several pictures of it. "Does it have to be on the chest right here? It wouldn't be very attractive right on my chest like that. Do you need any special kind of ink or ritual when it's applied?" Chloe asked all investigator again.

"It is supposed to be most affective if it is over your heart. But I think if you put it on your back right behind your heart it would be close to the same thing. If you are going to get one, I will go with you before Dean and I go and bless the ink. I'll check with someone else to see if there is anything else I can do to make it more powerful. If you only ever do one thing that I ask of you, do this Chloe. I never want you to be the thing I am hunting" Sam said seriously.

Totally ignoring Dean, Chloe sat down on Sam's thigh and kissed him. She tangled her fingers in his hair to pull him closer for a few short moments. "I promise I will get it done" Chloe swore.

"Thank you"

Dean coughed "Okay ladies now that the chick flick moment is over we have a job to do".

Chloe laughed and stood up. She leaning her head forward to tie the amulets around her neck. Sam came up behind her and tied them for her. He placed a kiss on the back of her neck before stepping away.

"You won't need to wear the one on the green cord once you have your tattoo done" Dean explained. "I think you should go get that done tomorrow regardless. The hunt can wait 2 hours while you get inked".

"It would definitely take more than 2 hours. We will probably have to drive into Metropolis to get it done. The amulet will just have to do for now. Let me check my email and we will get on the road. If I don't check in with Victor he will go postal. Sam, he wanted to know how well the EMF worked. If you could type out a paragraph for him on the end of the email I would appreciate it."

Chloe checked her email quickly typing out a quick note to Victor with the usual assurances of continue breathing. She stepped aside and let Sam type in a brief review of the new EMF that Victor had designed.

Chloe packed a knapsack for them with bottled water, snacks, Kleenex, flashlights and a thermos of coffee. She had no idea how long they would be out there, so it was a good idea to take some supplies. She took two more of her pills as well making sure Sam saw her do it. It was just a bit early for them, but if she waited until they got back it would likely be tonight.

Dean watched her packing it. "You beautiful are definitely a keeper" Dean said.

Chloe smiled at him. Now if you would just tell your brother that, Chloe thought.

"All done here, let's go" Sam said as he shrugged on his jacket. He slid the knapsack off Chloe shoulder and threw it over his. "You are looking so much better today, why take a chance of straining your side again" he said at her exasperate look.

Chloe huffed at him and walked out the door letting them follow her.

"Feisty" was Dean's comment to her retreating back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ineffable – 7/?**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester

Rating: PG-13 almost R (Adult Language, Violence and Sexual situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Adult language, violence and sexual situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Chloe guided them to a dirt road just off the edge of the property area. The road lead to, of all things, a small family cemetery. Chloe knew this was the Small family cemetery but shrugged and went over to check the stones anyway while the boys pulled stuff out of the trunk.

Coming back over to stand beside Sam she looked into their trunk. "Holy cow" Chloe whistled. "And you commented on the contents of my trunk.

"Well you are a civilian. Not many civilians carry ordinance in their trunks" Dean commented.

"Well I am not sure I would categorize myself as a civilian Dean, I just fight a different war than the one you do" Chloe answered. Dean gave her a sharp look but Chloe avoided meeting his eyes.

"You can bring the shot guns if you want. It's not that uncommon for people walking in the country around here to go armed" Chloe stated. "Just point them to the ground if we come across anyone else walking. That would be appropriate manners hereabouts."

They spent the next hour walking through the country. Most of the terrain was flat and easy enough to manage, but walking in frozen snow covered fields could be down right treacherous. There were hidden mounds and furrows all over that cause Chloe to stumble along. While it wasn't exactly life threatening, it was distinctly unpleasant and jarred her sore ribs more than once.

After the first hour Chloe began to rue her insistence on coming along. She didn't want to appear helpless or a damsel in distress. But she was starting to have difficulty keeping up. She wanted them to think of her as an asset not a hindrance.

Chloe and Sam had already spent the majority of the day walking around graveyards. While this didn't seem to affect Sam much, Chloe was feeling the affects of her long day. She was usually desk bound. Her team valued her for it. They were well aware of what an asset she could be without moving an inch. Unfortunately that meant she hadn't built up much stamina for walking.

Oliver worked with her on hand to hand combat when ever he was in town. However, he wasn't there often enough for any kind of consistency. Chloe wondered if she should enroll in some kind of marshal arts class. Goodness knows she got in more trouble than her tazer could get her out of on a regular basis. Lois would teach her if Chloe asked, but she wanted to defend herself not join her cousin's army of one. Whenever Lois tried to teach her anything, be it how to make an omelet or a pipe bomb, Chloe ended up wanting to maim her.

"What are you thinking about Chloe" Sam asked. "You are miles away."

"Self defense actually. I have a friend teaching me, but he is out of town so much it isn't as effective as it probably should be. I was just considering that I probably aught to sign up for some kind of martial arts or self defense class. I was pondering if I should and what kind of class I would take."

"That sounds like a great idea actually. If I were you I would ask your friend what he has been teaching you. That way when you go to class you won't be confused by a different style" Sam suggested.

Chloe beamed at him. "Perfect. That is a highly reasonable suggestion. I am sure it's something eastern. He does a lot of yoga too."

"Yoga?" Dean smirked. "That's kinda girly for a guy."

"Well trust me he is a pretty tough dude" Chloe said. "Flexibility is good for more than your dirty mind is thinking of. He is fast, agile and almost as tall as man mountain over here"".

"Hey" Sam interjected.

"He has helped me out of trouble a couple times" Chloe said.

"If you say so" Dean shrugged.

"The reason for my line of thought is this. I don't think I am going to be up for doing this for hours on end. I spend most of my life riding a keyboard. I don't want to hold you guys back. I need to get stronger if I am going to keep living the life I live".

"Okay princess don't worry about it" Dean said. "We aren't running a marathon today."

Sam offered her his hand pulling her over to his side. He slid her hand through his left arm to help support her. "Just hold onto me".

"I don't want to slow you down Sam" Chloe protested. "I can make it for a while longer".

"Your ribs are starting to hurt aren't they?" he asked. "Don't be so stubborn Chloe, lean on me. You are tiny and will hardly slow me down at all".

"The midget comments will not endear you to me high rise" Chloe quipped lightly.

They kept walking along mostly in silence. The air was becoming chilly as the sun started to fall down the sky. Chloe loved winter in Smallville. Clark had always more available without as many farm chores. She knew some of that was a front now, but back then he pretended the life of an average farm boy. The fields were barren and you could see for miles around without any crops to block your vision.

"You keep talking about all the trouble you get into. What exactly is it you run around poking your nose into" Dean asked.

"Well I told Sam the summery version of it the other night when we were emailing. I'll just give you guys the readers digest for now" Chloe said. "Smallville is the meteor capital of the world. We had two major meteor showers here in the last 20 years. The first was when I was very young and before my family ever moved to Smallville. The second happened during my high school graduation. These were large devastating meteor showers. The last one wrecked half the town. I have been told the first was just as devastating".

"That sounds rather scary to live though" Sam said.

"Truthfully, it was horrifying. People were desperately trying to get out of town, but all the roads were backed up. Cars weren't moving at all. My friend Lana went missing. Clark's family got caught by one. It totally destroyed their house. They took a direct hit" Chloe grinned at Dean.

"That was actually part of the reason I needed to warn Clark about you Dean. It was your doppelganger that caused Mr. and Mrs. Kent to be hurt. He was holding them at gun point inside the house. His mother had gone missing and he went cookoo for cocoa puffs. For some mad reason he thought Clark knew where she was. Clark wasn't even at the house. He had already evacuated. Jason died that day, but I wasn't sure Clark's brain would kick in before he let fists fly. He is very protective of his family and friends. I was afraid he would hurt you".

"He could try" Dean said with masculine pride dripping off him. "So much for the readers digest version. How does this add up to you getting into trouble constantly"?

"Okay Rambo, I'll get to the point" Chloe said. "Some of the meteors that fell were radioactive. They changed this town. People caught in either of the showers or who have long term exposure started popping up with abilities. Clark and I have been investigating these occurrences since high school".

"Then you add on top of that unscrupulous people do experimentation with the meteors and you get a whole other realm of problems. Some people are even doing human experimentation. Those with meteor powers have been kidnapped and taken to secret labs. I suspect that they are even dosing uninfected people to try and stimulate abilities".

"You didn't tell me that earlier Chloe" Sam said.

"It's not a pleasant subject. We try to do as much as we can to expose the labs. Needless to say, there are powerful ruthless people who don't want me to do that. Some percentage of the meteor infected go insane, either their exposure or their powers somehow unbalance their minds. Some of them go psychopathic and start killing people with their powers. We aren't really sure what causes them to go unstable. I run a foundation that helps council the meteor infected. It gives them a place to come anonymously to talk to someone who understands" Chloe explained.

Sam frowned. "Isn't that dangerous Chloe, you said most of them go insane?"

"I won't lie to you. There is some danger involved, but the folks that come to the foundation are mostly looking for hope. The truth is that we really don't know what percentage of the meteor infected are sane. Between the police capturing and placing the dangerous ones in Belle Reeve, and Lex having them kidnapped and experimented on we think most of them are in hiding. I have never been attacked by one of my clients. I have been attacked multiple times by the meteor infected just walking around town when growing up" Chloe shrugged. "This isn't exactly the safest place to call home. It would have been much worse if Clark and I hadn't stopped most of them through the years".

"Okay you definitely need to start with the self defense classes" Dean said. "You are begging to be hurt or kidnapped doing what you do".

"That train left the station years ago. It's more of an unusual month if that doesn't happen" Chloe smiled.

"Dean" Sam pointed off to the right.

Chloe squinted in the direction Sam was pointing. It looked like there was something over there. The group headed across the field and found the crumbling foundation of an old farm house. The walls were gone with only the stone foundation remaining.

"It's worth checking out. This could be the old farmstead. The foundation construction looks like it could have come from that time period" Chloe stated. She pulled out her GPS and noted the coordinates on their map.

"We should head out after this anyway" Sam said. "It's getting close to dusk and I want to get Chloe out of here before nightfall".

Chloe poked Sam in the chest. "I thought we had already cleared this up this morning Sam. I won't be sent away like a child".

"Chloe it's not worth taking the chance. You are injured and potentially vulnerable to possession. I don't want you to get hurt" Sam said firmly.

"I am not a child Sam. I am perfectly capable of deciding what risks are acceptable to me. I am wearing the protective charms you gave me. I really don't believe I am more at risk than anyone else" Chloe said.

Sam grasped her arm and turned her towards him forcing her to meet his eyes. "You take your safety too lightly Chloe. You are acting recklessly. How can I protect you if you don't let me"?

"Who said it was your job to protect me"?

"I did" he replied stepping close to her and kissing her hard on the mouth. "I will not watch you die" he said fiercely.

Sam released her and walked away. She watched him with her eyes baffled. What the hell was that? Sam was usually so even tempered his behavior shocked Chloe.

Dean cleared his throat. "The last woman he loved was killed by a demon right in front of him".

"Loved"?

"I am not saying he loves you, but I know my brother and he definitely has feelings for you. Just cut him some slack. He is right anyway; we should get you out of here. Now if we are done with the chick flick moment we have a grave to look for".

Chloe watched Dean as he stalked away after his brother. "Men!" She looked to the heavens for patience.

Chloe headed over to check out the back yard, wanting to put some distance between her and Sam for a while. Picking her way among the weeds and rusted farm implements she thought about what Dean had said. Sam had been in love and lost her to a demon. It certainly explained his behavior. While she didn't want to upset Sam, she couldn't change who she was either. She wasn't the type to stay at home wringing her hands while the men folk went out and slew the beast. She would rather help track the beast and help with the slaying. Chloe knew she wasn't fit for a physical battle. Battles were won and lost however in the planning stage as often as not. She could help them if they would let her.

Chloe sighed. She would have to talk with Sam. She would take whatever precautions he deemed necessary, but she was going to help them banish this ghost.

She found the door to the storm cellar about 100 yards behind the house. The wooden door was badly battered and sections of planks were missing leaving a sizable hole in the right door. I will probably find some creature holed up in here she thought. Pulling the door open Chloe turned on her flash light and shined it down into the cellar hoping not to see eyes shining back at her. Cautiously she tested the stairs as she made her way down into the cellar. The stairs seemed to be in good shape. Luckily they were made of flat stone packed into the earth of the cellar rather than wooden risers, which would have rotted long ago with water getting in through the hole in the door. As long as she stayed on the left side of the stairs it was safe enough.

It was getting close to dusk they didn't have much time left. She decided to take a quick peek to see if there was anything to interesting in there. Descending into the cellar Chloe looked around with her flashlight. There was evidence that at some point a creature had used this as a den. Small animal bones littered the floor. It was probably a fox or coyote. Who ever it was, she didn't think they were living here anymore. There was an old rotting shelf to her right that had an assortment of junk on it.

Chloe went over to check it out. Mostly it was broken, chipped or shattered containers both glass and pottery. Labels tied to the bottles were faded and difficult to read in a barely legible scrawl. It looked like they used this as a sort of cold storage. It was probably the coolest place available in the summer.

There were old wrought implements as well, hooks, a spoon and maybe that thing was a spit. What a fascinating little piece of history. There was a rusting metal box on one of the shelves that wouldn't open when she tried. Pulling it down off the shelf Chloe examined it more closely. She could probably jimmy the lock. Chloe dug into her purse looking for her tools.

"Chloe?" she heard Sam calling her from outside.

"Chloe!" Dean called.

"I'm down here" She called back.

"Chloe where are you?"

"I'm in the storm cellar" Chloe yelled back. "I think I have found something."

Chloe heard a loud banging sound and quickly jumped to her feet. What the hell was that? Grabbing the box Chloe headed for the stairs. She could open it later. The boys probably wanted to leave now, it was definitely getting darker. The cellar was dark as night.

Oh, well the doors had blown shut. That would explain the noise and why it was so dark all of a sudden. Chloe climbed the stairs and pushed against the door, it didn't budge. Putting down the box, Chloe braced herself and pushed with both hands against the door hard enough to make her ribs ache. Okay the door was well and truly stuck. Chloe shivered rubbing her hands together. It must be getting close to nightfall, it was definitely getting colder.

"Sam?" Chloe called out. "I can't get the door open it's stuck. Can you come get me out of here please"?

"Chloe?" Dean's voice was close.

Sticking her hand out the hole Chloe waved. "Over here Dean! Could you hurry up, I'm freezing down here".

A warm hand grasped hers briefly. "Hang on I'll get the door open" Dean said.

Thank goodness Chloe thought as a chill crept up her spine. It was getting down right frigid in the cellar. Chloe thoughts raced quickly. Freezing cold room, door stuck with her trapped inside. Slowly she turned around and looking down into the cellar again. She didn't see anything but she had a feeling that the ghost was there with her.

"Umm Dean" Chloe said as calmly as she could. "Now would be a great time to open the door. I don't think I am alone down here".

"It's stuck! I can't get it open. Hang on I'll find something to pry it open with".

"Chloe hang on we will get you out of there" Sam said from the other side of the door.

Chloe picked up the metal box and pushed it out through the hole in the door. "Here take this just in case. I think it might be a clue. I probably pissed it off when I found it."

Sam wrapped his warm hand around hers before she could pull it back. "It's going to be okay Chloe, just hang on".

Feeling the chill intensify Chloe clung to his hand tightly. "Sam, no matter what happens; it's not your fault. I chose to be here, it was my decision".

"Chloe don't talk that.."

Chloe screamed as she felt a cold hand grab her leg.

"CHLOE!" Sam yelled as her hand was yanked from his. Chloe tumbled down the stairs painfully. She curled up to try and protect her ribs. She heard loud bangs from above as Sam pounded on the door.

"Sam hurry" Chloe cried out pressing her back to the wall. Why didn't she bring Lois' gun? Chloe felt that ice cold hand wrap around her arm again and she was tossed across the room into the rotting shelf. The whole thing collapsed under her weight and broken glass and crockery rained down on her.

She heard the sound of wood shattering as the door gave way under the boots of Sam and Dean. The brothers ran down into the cellar with shotguns drawn. They went over to her. Sam pulled her up and pushed her against the wall placing his body in front of her. Dean fired a few random shots into the room as they slowly edged towards the door.

Once they reached the stairs Sam pushed her towards them. "Go!"

Chloe needed no further urging. She clambered up the stairs as fast as she could. She grabbed the metal box and back away from the cellar quickly. Sam and Dean backed out of the cellar and fired a couple of shots down the stairs for good measure. Dean pulled a container of salt out and poured a quick circle around them. It was almost full dark out now so Chloe followed him with her flashlight so he could see to make the circle complete. Chloe sagged to the ground once he finished drawing it, relieved to be inside the circle of safety.

"Chloe are you okay?" Sam asked kneeling beside her. His hands running over her body checking for injuries.

"I am okay just a few cuts from the glass and maybe a couple new bruises" she said with a sigh of relief.

Sam pulled out a first aid kit from Dean's bag and started tending to her cuts. One cut on her arm still had a shard of glass in it that he had to pull out. The glass was filthy. "We will need to clean these up better when we get home" Sam said as he wrapped the cut. Once he was done he pulled her close wrapping his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Well let's see what you found that pissed him off so badly" Dean said picking the lock on the box. It took him a minute but he eventually forced the lock opening the box. Inside there was a journal, some odd bits of paper and a pair of glasses. Dean flipped through the journal quickly.

"Apparently Judge Jefferies was very involved in the abolitionist movement. This journal has notes about all of their skirmishes, names and locations of agents and their plans for the future. This may actually have been what he was murdered to obtain. This information would have been priceless to his enemies" Dean said.

"That is definitely an item important enough to him to bind him to this area. This may be what we were looking for. Once it is gone he won't need to stay here to protect it any longer." Sam offered. "Let's burn it and get out of here. Chloe needs a doctor".

Dean put it all back into the box. He poured salt over top and then added lighter fluid. He handed a book of matches to Chloe. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Chloe struck a match and dropped it watching the fire flare up. She leaned back into Sam's arms as the fire burned itself out. "What now?"

Dean shrugged and picked up his shot gun. He stepped outside the circle and walked around the perimeter. When nothing happened he walked over to the house and back.

"I think we are safe, let's get out of here" Dean said.

"We are only about a quarter mile from Mill Pond Road. Let me call Clark and ask him to pick us up there and drive us back to your car. I really don't feel up to a midnight hike at this point" Chloe said. When Dean nodded Chloe pulled out her cell phone and asked Clark to come pick them up in his truck. She specifically said truck so he would know to drive not super speed. "He will probably be there before us so let's get moving".

Chloe let Sam help her to her feet and leaned against him as they walked out. Her right hip was sore from the tumble she took down the stairs and she didn't feel as steady on her feet as she might have liked. Dean kept his shotgun out and was obviously on guard the whole way. It felt like the walk was taking forever to Chloe. She just wanted to sit down somewhere warm and cuddle against Sam. When Chloe started stumbling Sam stopped and picked her up.

"Sam, not that I don't appreciate the Galahad bit, but you can't carry me the whole way" Chloe protested.

"Why not Lilliputian? You aren't a burden at all" he said as he continued walking. "Besides," he whispered in her ear "I like holding you this close".

Chloe relaxed resting her head on his shoulder letting him play the hero, just this once.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ineffable – 8/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Clark Kent, OFC

Rating: R (Language, Violence and Adult situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Language, violence and adult situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call them George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Of course Clark took one look at her being carried to the car in Sam's arms and freaked out. He went straight into overprotective big brother mode and insisted on taking her to the hospital.

Chloe put her food down and insisted that she was fine and wanted to go home and soak in a hot tub for a while. Clark wouldn't budge on it until she had him x-ray her. Then he insisted on driving her home himself and carried her upstairs laying her on the couch. Once the brothers walked into her apartment Clark yelled at them for letting Chloe get hurt again. Unexpectedly they just stood there and took it. Dean looked amused more than anything, but Sam looked guilty. When she couldn't take it anymore, Chloe yelled back at him that she was responsible for herself and it wasn't the brother's fault.

For her troubles she got a lecture from Clark on taking fewer chances with both brothers backing him up. She couldn't get a word in edgewise so she did the only thing she could do retreat.

Stumbling up to her feet she limped to the bathroom refusing assistance from Clark or Sam. Grudgingly she let Dean help her to the door where she firmly shut the it in his face and locked it. She ran a tub of warm water adding Epson salts. She slowly lowered her aching body into the comforting warmth. Now that is what I really need, Chloe thought.

Chloe laid her head back against the edge of the tub with a sigh. She really did feel like she went 10 rounds with a heavy weight. She stayed in the tub for half an hour ignoring the voices in the next room. Well at least they weren't yelling at each other anymore.

Apparently they got tired of waiting for her to come out. Clark knocked on the door and told her to come out. Ten minutes later he told her to come out or he was going to come in.

"Alright alright, I'm coming" Chloe responded. "Yeesh, overprotective much"?

Pulling herself out of the bath Chloe dried off feeling much better for her soak. She realized that in her anger she didn't think to grab any clean cloths. No way was she going to pull on the ones she was wearing earlier.

"Clark? Would you grab me something clean to wear?" Chloe requested.

Sticking her hand out for the clothes when he knocked on the door she pulled them in and quickly got dressed. Sweat pants and an oversized T-shirt was not exactly what she wanted to wear in front of Sam, but the thick socks he brought with them more than made up for it.

Opening the door she glared at all three of them. "Are we all done yelling now? Cause I can go right back in there".

Clark held up his hands in surrender. Giving her no time to protest he picked her up and carried her over to the couch again. Sam came over with her first aid kit and started to clean her cuts. The bath she had taken was probably more than sufficient to clean them, but if it made him feel better she decided to let him fuss.

"Okay first off, Clark it was not anyone's fault that I got hurt again. We had no way of knowing he would appear then. There was no indication that he would appear that early in the night. It was still twilight. We were about to head out before it happened to avoid the chance of meeting him again. It was just bad luck" Chloe said.

"Secondly, I am really flattered that all of you want to protect me. In fact I don't want you to stop doing so. I am not however going to change who I am to suit you. I am an investigator. I can't and won't sit back on my hands when people are in danger. It's simply not in my nature".

"Third, I am a damn good researcher and I am an asset not a burden. I will take any reasonable measures to keep myself safe" she said briefly resting her hand on the charms around her neck. "Just don't try to keep me out of it. I can go with you or I can go by myself".

"Chloe" Clark said "I know you can take care of yourself in most situations. You just scare me when you go off on your own and get hurt".

"But I wasn't on my own Clark. I had Sam and Dean with me. I know I started this by myself, but you have to admit that when I discovered that I was out of my depth I got help. You wouldn't have had any more clue what to do that I did. I am not being reckless. I am taking calculated risks".

"Just promise me you will be careful" Clark hugged her.

"Of course I will. Now go home, Lana is waiting for you. Please don't tell her about this. With everything going on I don't need a Mother Teresa visit from her. Better to keep her out of this entirely" Chloe said shooing him out the door.

Once Clark was gone Chloe waited for one of them to make a comment.

"You were right about this not being something predictable" Dean said. "But next time you want to go into a dark hole in the ground,… tell someone first".

"Deal"

"There is some sandwich meat in the fridge and there is still soup left in the crock pot if you are hungry" Chloe suggested.

Either Dean was hungry again or he took the subtle hint, either way he left Sam and Chloe alone. Sam didn't say a word he just sat down beside her and pulled her close.

"I am going to go grab some beer. I won't be back for at least an hour." Dean called as he headed out the door.

"He's subtle" Chloe chuckled.

Sam laughed. "Yeah Dean is the master of smooth. Are you really okay Chloe? How are your ribs feeling?"

"I feel like I went 10 rounds with an orangutan, but I am fine. I am going to have a hell of a bruise on my hip after doing my Humpty Dumpty down the stairs but that should be the worst of it. Don't worry I heal fast".

She did too. Ever since her gift had manifested Chloe had noticed she healed much faster than she used to. Not so much that it would cause more than a minor stir at the hospital but enough to cut her recovery time by more than half.

"Chloe, you scared me half to death when you said that to me earlier". She didn't have to ask what he meant by that.

"Then you were just gone" Sam pulled her close.

"I know Sam. I am sorry for scaring you" Chloe snuggled against him. "This is exactly what I need. No doctors just to feel safe like this".

"I make you feel safe?"

"Yes you do" she answered.

"Good" Sam said just before he kissed her. Chloe parted her lips easily at his request and they melted into each other. Sam didn't press for more than kisses, but they were long, sensual, exploratory kisses that left her short of breath and aching for more.

Chloe pushed him back and turned towards him until she was half lying on top of him taking control of the kiss, deepening it. Sam groaned beneath her and rolled his hips against hers instinctively. Chloe loved the feeling of seducing him. Feeling him all strong and male and quivering beneath her. He was hard against her hip as their lips continued to mate.

He gently turned her until she was lying flat on top of him. He parted his legs guiding her to sink into the cradle of his hips. Passion flared brightly between them as the rocked together on the couch. Sam's hands slid up her body one tangling in her hair to bring her mouth more forcefully against his. She purred at the sensation. His kiss turned burning hot as he nibble and kissed and sucked at her lips. The other hand slid up her side and gently cupped her right breast. Chloe gasped at the intense sensation as he touched her intimately for the first time. He cupped her breast firmly in his large hand. His thumb began brushing back and forth over the peak hardening beneath the soft fabric of her T-Shirt.

"God Chloe," Sam moaned. "We need to stop now. I can't take much more of this." He moaned against her skin as he trailed heated kisses down her neck. His teeth scraping against her skin made her body melt into his. His touch was just right, just perfect making her want to throw caution to the wind. Here, now, this man was right. No one had ever made her feel like this before. She couldn't stop him, she didn't want to.

Sam must have felt her surrender because he groaned loudly and thrust his hips up against her grinding his erection against her thighs. Letting go of her hair he slide both hands slowly down her body, pausing for a long moment to kneed her full breasts and worry her other nipple into aching hardness.

"Sam, please!" Chloe moaned in pleasure running her mouth down to nibble on his neck. She felt him pressing up to meet her mouth and parted her lips to suck on the warm flesh. She loved how that made him pant and moan beneath her. Latching on stronger she scrapped her teeth over his flesh just like he had with her and laughed when his whole body froze beneath her then shuddered in pleasure.

"Chloe" he moaned her name his hands sweeping down her body to grasp her hips tightly as he thrust up against her moaning.

"OUCH ouch ouch dammit!" Chloe cursed as pain flared through her body.

"Shit!" Sam cursed as he quickly released her and pushed both of them up into a seated position still entwined. "Your ribs or your hip?"

Chloe grimace, "Both actually" she admitted.

Sam groaned and rested his head on her shoulder drawing deep breaths. "I want you so much I ache with it Chloe, but not if it's going to hurt you" he whispered against her flesh. "I need you to understand this isn't just sex Chloe. I feel we could be so much more than that".

Chloe took a shuddering breath. "I know. You are not alone in feeling that way Sam. You make me feel so good. I am not usually like this with someone I barely know. But I don't feel like I barely know you. It's like I knew you the moment we met. I can't resist you".

Chloe ran her hand tentatively down his stomach. "Do you want me to?" she asked.

Sam took her hand and brought it to his mouth and kissed it. "Tempting, but no please. I want our first time together to be special, not hurried awkward and in pain. That is if you would want me to come visit you sometimes" he asked quietly.

Chloe smiled at him. "Yes I would like that a lot. We can call and email as much as you want. I could even help you with research. I have some resources at hand that I am not even allowed to tell you about" She said.

When he started to open his mouth to question her about what she said she covered his lips with a finger and said "just don't ask okay. I will see if I can get permission to tell you at least the basics".

"We had better get up from here or Dean is going to know exactly what we have been doing" Sam said.

"I should check my email anyway" Chloe kissed him lingeringly one last time before getting up and crossed to the table only limping a little bit.

Chloe pulled up her email; she had a message from Victor again. They usually emailed each other just about every day, but this was getting ridiculous. "Victor again" Chloe announced.

Sam handed her two pills and a glass of water which she took without complaint. She had learned the futility of fighting him on this point. She opened the first message from Victor and laughed. "This one is for you sort of. He tells me that he likes the sound of you. Translation he thinks you are a geek and that makes you okay. He also gives you the same obligatory death and destruction threats that Clark gave Dean. He sent along the plans for his EMF – Q2 that he designed with the changes and improvements you mentioned in the email. He must really like you to send you his plans. Geek love?"

Sam scooted behind her to take a look at the plans he had sent. "A man has an obligation to ohhh and ahhh over tech gadgets it's a gender privilege. Could you email those to my hotmail account?"

Chloe sent them along with a few clicks of her mouse. "He also said that you should go ahead and keep the EMF – Q1. He is already making me a replacement model and you can use it more than me".

"You do know you have the best friends ever right?" he asked.

"Yep!"

"Seriously they seem to be very protective of you. Clark, Victor and they guy teaching you hand to hand. Or is that Clark or Victor?"

"No no, Victor is a geek like me. Clark is all brawn; he just punches his way through things. That works great when you are 6'3" 220lbs. It's not so great when you are 5'4" she commented wryly.

"So, do you think we got the ghost today or do we still need to find the gravesite?"

"No way to tell for sure other than going back into the house at night" He stated.

"So what's the plan? Are we heading over there tonight?" she asked.

"No we are going to wait until tomorrow to do that. Unless my bull headed brother headed there instead of out for beer. I wouldn't put that past him actually. Give me a sec" he said pulling out his phone and walked across the room to make the call.

Chloe typed a quick reply to Victor thanking him for Sam and for herself. She asked him if it was okay to share the plans for the Q2 with other people.

"He actually is at the grocery store; you want him to pick anything up?"

"We could use eggs and milk. Breakfast meat if you guys want any I am out. We need a loaf of bread and something to make for dinner tomorrow if you guys are still going to be here. Otherwise we can go out to dinner" she said.

Sam finished his conversation with Dean and came back over to sit by her. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" He said tipping her lips up to his for a kiss.

"Well I am glad you think so anyway" she said with a smile.

"Chloe I want to go tomorrow to get your tattoo done. Let's look up a place and call to make you an appointment. I am going to call my friend and make sure we don't need to do anything special. That is if you are still willing to do it" he said.

"I gave you my word Sam. If it gives you peace of mind I am happy to do it. Plus let's get real. I have no desire to ever be possessed again. The last one was the worst. It was pretty bad. It's not something I want to repeat" Chloe said fervently.

"Good I'll make that call" Sam went across the room again to talk to his friend on the phone.

Chloe spent the time researching different tattoo parlors in Metropolis. She found one that had good safety ratings and the pictures they had online of work done prior were amazingly beautiful. The website had a neo-pagan Wiccan kind of feel to it as well. That meant they were unlikely to be weirded out if they blessed the ink or did some odd incantation. Chloe called the store and spoke to a nice gentleman on the phone. She explained what she wanted telling them it was a protection symbol and that it needed to be exactly like the original. She told them they would be doing a blessing over the ink to strengthen the protection. The guy on the phone was very matter of fact about the whole thing and didn't seem bothered at all.

He asked her if she had a preferred artist she wanted to do the work. He said if she didn't he recommended Echo, she had done this kind of work often before and might even be familiar with exactly what she wanted. He directed her to some examples of her work on the website. Her work was stunning. She worked mainly in grey scale but the work was intricate and detailed. Chloe made an appointment for tomorrow morning happily. She hung up to find Sam watching her.

"You have an appointment then?" he asked.

"Yes I found a great place. They weren't at all fazed about the blessing. They even have a lady there who does this kind of work. She is very talented. Take a look at her work" Chloe said turning her laptop around.

"Her work is stunning Chloe" Sam said. He looked through the website with a smile on his face. "Good work; this is exactly the kind of place I would have chosen. Thank you for doing this".

"You're welcome. I am going to drag Lois down there to get one done as well. She also had a tiny problem with her own 16th century slutty witch back in the day, so I know I can talk her into this. Do we need to do anything more than bless the ink?"

"Normally we would need to cleanse the area, but if it is a Wiccan establishment they will have already done that" he said.

"I need you to check my back for me" Chloe said with a blush. "The guy said the area to be tattooed had to be blemish free. No moles, scratches or bruises. Would you mind?"

"Of course I will Chloe" he replied.

Chloe turned around straddling her chair turning her back to him. She slowly lifted her shirt up keeping the front down as much as possible. She felt his hands running slowly up her back in a gentle caress. His fingers rested on the band of her bra right over the hooks. He cleared his throat and asked "May I?"

Chloe nodded and felt him unhook her bra. His fingers caressing her gently right between her left shoulder blade and her spine. "Your back is perfect Chloe. The skin is flawless".

She felt him kissing her back. They were soft butterfly kisses. The pattern seemed completely random at first until suddenly she realized what he was doing. He was kissing her bruises. Chloe felt a little choked up at such a simple loving gesture.

"Promise me you will try to take better care of yourself hon. I hate to see you so beat up" he said as he hooked her bra and pulled the her shirt down.

"I promise Sam. I usually am behind the scenes. I don't usually make it out into the field that much" Chloe said. She felt this hands tense where there were resting on her shoulders and realized she had said a bit too much. She was grateful when he didn't ask any questions.

"Would Clark loan you his truck if you asked?"

"I don't see why not. What do you have in mind?"

"We have all afternoon tomorrow free. I thought we might head back out to the farmstead and see if we can find any graves out there. I think it would be smart to salt and burn the bones as well if we can find them" He said.

"That sounds like a great idea Sam" she said.

She needed to get rid of Sam for a few moments. She could just ask him to step out, but she really didn't want to make it any more obvious that she was hiding things from him.

"Sam, would you mind running downstairs and getting a caramel latte for me"?

"Sure no problem, be right back".

"Tell them it's for me and it will be half price" she told him.

Once he shut the door Chloe called Clark. She asked him about borrowing his truck tomorrow afternoon which he agreed to. Then she hit him up for the real favor. "Clark, I really don't want to spend all day out in the wilderness again if I can help it. Could you run out to the farmstead in the morning and check for any skeletons buried on or near the property? If they aren't marked could you put a large stone down over them or something? Try to make it look like it has always been there. You know it will take you about two minutes to do what it will take us hours to accomplish. Then text me where they are if you think it will be hard for us to find them. I will manage to stumble clueless over them somehow".

"Sure Chloe, no problem" Clark agreed readily.

"You Clark Kent, are a gem of a man" Chloe said cheekily just as Sam came back in.

"I'll see you tomorrow Clark and thanks".

Sam arched an eyebrow at her. "And I find you sweet talking other men already. Should I be jealous?" he asked teasingly.

"Not if you keep bringing me coffee, that is the sure fire way to win my heart".

"I'll have to remember that" he said fake serious.

Dean came back shortly after that with several bags of groceries. He brought quite a bit more than she had asked for. They had more than enough food for several days if need be.

"Thank you Dean, you may have redeeming qualities after all" she grinned at him.

Dean flirted with her outrageously. They made dinner and watched DVDs. She and Sam cuddled on the couch for the rest of the night. All things being equal, it was just about perfect. Dean even washed the dishes.

Sam and Chloe got up early the next morning to make it to the tattoo parlor on time. They only had time for coffee and toast before they hit the road. Sam insisted on driving because she had just taken her pain meds. The ones that he insisted that she take.

"Bobby said that putting the tattoo on your back was fine. Well, what he actually said was 'She can put it on her ass for all I care, it's getting it that counts period. Behind the heart on the back would probably be second best though.' He can be a bit grumpy at times" Sam said with great affection in his voice.

"He sounds like a real character. You really care for him don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah he is like a second father to Dean and I. Now that dad is gone, he is really the only family we have left besides each other" Sam said. "Well he isn't really genetically family, but he's family".

"I know what you mean. I feel the same way about the Kents. They are my family. When Clark lost his father it was almost like loosing mine".

Sam cleared this throat and changed the subject. Chloe knew that the pain of loosing his father was still too fresh to speak of it. So she just held his hand and let him.

"Chloe I can tell that there are things that you aren't able to tell me. There are things you are keeping from me. I understand that we are just getting to know each other and you don't feel able to confide in me. I just want to ask you one thing. Are you safe? Do they protect you?"

"Yes Sam, they take my safety very seriously. More than I do most of the time. They would never do anything that would risk me. They treat me like their favorite kid sister".

Sam squeezed her hand. "That's all I needed to know. The rest can wait until you are ready to tell me".

"Sam, some things I may never be able to tell you. There are some secrets I hold that are not mine to share. I can only promise that if it was ever really important that for you to know, someone would tell you. If the situation was life or death then I or they would tell you" she promised. "If you want I can give someone your hotmail address. That way if I am not able to contact you myself, you will be contacted if anything should ever,… Well if things went really badly."

"Yes I would really like you to do that".

"There is one thing I can do for you. In fact with you being a hunter it's probably a good idea you have a bit more information about Meta humans anyway. Just remember Meta humans are like everyone else. Some are good, some are bad and some are neither. I know you don't care for Meta humans, but I promise you some of them are the best kind of people. Some of them go out of there way to make this world a better place" she said passionately.

"Chloe. I don't have anything against Meta humans. I worry about you because you stated yourself that the meteor infected can be dangerous. I have no doubt there are good people as well as the bad" Sam said.

Chloe closed her eyes in relief when he said that. Maybe there was a chance one day that he would be able to accept her even with her gift. She wasn't willing to risk that now; they really only just knew each other no matter how close they felt. But perhaps one day in the future she could tell him.

"Those terms by the way don't exactly mean the same thing. The two terms can be used to differentiate groups. Meteor infected pertains only to those that have a mutation caused by exposure to meteor rocks. There are even people who are infected who do not show any active abilities. Some people have abilities that lay dormant for years only to activate violently years later. So even a dormant ability would still classify them as meteor infected" Chloe explained.

"Meta human is often used to describe those who have a natural mutation or one cause by an event not involving the meteor rocks. Someone gaining an ability through an industrial accident would be classified as a Meta human. In the broadest sense however, anyone with ability above human normal would be considered a meta human, even the meteor infected as long as they have an active ability" Chloe concluded.

Chloe grinned "Sorry about that, I kind of got off track and went into lecture mode. What I wanted to do was give you a login and password for my virtual wall of weird. Almost everything I have learned over the years about Meta humans is there. It could be a valuable resource for you. The only thing I would ask in return is that you not share the login with anyone, even your brother. Not that I don't trust him, but I know you better. I also want your promise that you will only use it to help people. You will only go after a meta that has proven to be dangerous, not just because they have the potential to be so" She said.

"I would never do that Chloe" Sam said.

"Then swear and I will give you access to my life's work" she said. "You will learn a lot about the kinds of things I have lived through from looking over that site. You can ask me anything you want about it, but I may not always be able to answer. Do we have a deal?" she asked.

"We have a deal Chloe. I must admit that I am very interested to see this website now" he grinned. "And I do swear. I swear I will never use the information you give me against anyone who has not proven to be a threat. I may use information obtained to protect against them when I am unsure if they are a threat, but only when appropriate".

"That works for me. It's a reasonable promise. Thank you Sam" Chloe said. "Now give me a login and pass that you will be able to remember. I don't ever want it written down if you can possibly help it".

Chloe accessed her server and created the ID for him. Then she sent him a link to the Wall of Weird at his hotmail account. "You are all set Sam"

Sam asked her questions about Meta humans and the meteor infected for the rest of the drive. It helped the time go by fast, before she knew it they were in metropolis. Sam pulled over so she could drive them to the parlor.

"You nervous?" he asked.

"Nope, I am a bit excited actually. I kind of always wanted to get a tattoo, but could never figure out what I wanted. So this is really kind of cool" she smiled.

"Closet wild woman huh?" he teased.

She leaned over and gave him a long hot kiss before getting out of the car. "My wild woman is definitely out of the closet".

The store was small with interesting artwork painted on the window. It was in one of those strip malls, the kind that had five shops all in a row. It was next door to a new age book store, which might explain why they had someone who specialized in protective tattoos. Sam reached out for her hand and stopped her from entering first. When she raised an eyebrow at him he just shrugged as if to say, so sue me.

Sam stepped through the door taking in the whole room in one long glance before stepping forward and allowing her to enter. Chloe rolled her eyes at him for show, but was actually touched and quite pleased that he protected her so vigilantly. It made her feel cherished.

The shop was clean and brightly lit. There were several customers in the shop already. Some were already being worked on. Chloe tried to look at the work being done without staring obviously. Artwork hung all along the walls. Some of it was obviously for show, pictures of elaborate tattoos. Some of it was many small drawings on sheets of paper hung up side by side. Chloe guessed these were for folk to browse to pick a tattoo from. She walked up to the counter and told the man at there that she had an appointment with Echo. He asked her to have a seat. Instead of sitting down she went to look at the artwork. Sam came to stand behind her hands resting on her shoulders. Chloe wasn't sure if he was just looking at the art work or if he was physically claiming her as his. She really rather thought it was the later. There were a half dozen men in the shop both patrons and employees. Quite a few of them were watching her. They weren't being intrusive or intentionally offensive, but obviously Sam didn't like it.

His right hand trailed down her arm slowly then slid to rest on her hip in a move that was obviously possessive. His fingers splayed out covering hip from waist to thigh. Chloe almost could have laughed at how obvious he was being if his touch didn't feel so blasted good. She leaned back against his body, accepting his possession of her to the eyes of the room. Chloe felt Sam relax almost immediately with her change of body language.

Chloe continued to look at the art on the walls with Sam following behind her maintaining contact. He was much more relaxed so she guessed the guys had stopped watching her. He did not however change his body language; it practically screamed mine to the whole room. The only way he could have been more obvious was to push her against the wall and ravish her. Chloe grinned at her though, now there was an idea.

She was surprised at how much she was enjoying his dominant display. The way it made her feel so eminently sexual and somewhat submissive was just a bit disturbing. She didn't normally like aggressive men. But then Sam wasn't really aggressive, he was protective. He wouldn't be behaving this way unless he felt it was necessary. Chloe looked around the room wondering who it was that was making him uneasy. Now that she was looking for it, it was fairly obvious. She didn't like the look of him either. Unthinkingly she stepped around Sam placing him between her and the man. Sam pulled her to his side gently kissing her forehead. He had obviously figured out the reason for her change in behavior and was trying to reassure her.

The more time she spent with Sam the more amazed she was by him. It was the small things like this that was making it impossible not to fall for him. It was really going to suck when he had to leave. Meeting Sam had to be better than not meeting him at all. Just knowing he existed even if he was miles away would be so much better than being alone again. She had waited a long time to find a man she could love more than Clark. She really was beginning to think that Sam was that man.

A beautiful woman came out of the back room and walked up to them. "Are you Chloe?" She asked. She was several inches taller than Chloe and her skin was a lovely copper color. Chloe would guess her about the same age as Dean or a bit more. She had beautiful brown eyes and long straight dark brown hair that she had up in a pony tail. Her looks were exotic but her dress was simple and practical jeans and plain T-shirt. Around her neck was an amulet quite a bit larger than the two that Chloe wore. It was the only adornment that she wore.

"Yes" Chloe answered her.

"Come on back to my room and we will discuss your art work" Echo said leading them into the back of the shop. Chloe was glad that she would have privacy for the tattoo. She hadn't been looking forward to being stared at. It was quite natural for people to want to watch, you could hardly blame them.

Echo gestured for them to take a seat. "Ed told me that you were looking for a protective tattoo, do you know what you want?" she asked.

In way of an answer Sam unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the collar back to display his tattoo. Echo walked up to him. Glancing at her for permission she crouched in front of him and placed her hand just under the tattoo examining it closely. "You want protection from demonic possession then? Good I already know this one" she grinned at Sam's surprised look.

"Ed did tell you this was my specialty" she said.

"Yes but that doesn't always mean everything that one might hope" Sam replied.

"Well I can do a bit better for her than what you have. It looks good on you, but I will ink hers a bit more delicately" she said flipping through the book and showing the design first to Sam and then to Chloe. She had obviously figured out who she really had to sell this to. "It is the same mark that you bear just rendered with a more delicate hand. It will be just as effective for protection as your own mark".

"Good" Sam replied.

"If you like, I can also replace this one for you" she said lifting the other amulet Chloe was wearing. She flipped through her book and pointed to another tattoo that when examined was of the same design as the amulet she wore.

Sam took a good bit longer studying this one but looked up at Chloe and nodded. "If you don't mind the additional ink this would be a good idea Chloe".

He turned back to Echo. "Do you have one that wards specifically against possession by spirits?"

She flipped a page forward in the book and pointed to a different symbol in the book.

"I will have to take your word for that one. I am not familiar with it" he said. "What is it called?"

He looked up at Chloe who shrugged. If three tattoos instead of one kept her from ever reliving her last possession she would learn to love them regardless.

"We will take all three for her and I would like to get the second one if you have time for it. I'll come back later in the week if you need me to" he told her.

"That shouldn't be a problem" she said. "Where were you thinking of putting the first Tattoo?" she asked Chloe.

When Chloe told her she started sketching quickly on a piece of paper. "If you like I can do them linked together like this. It will not affect the power of the markings only make them more pleasing to the eye. It also will give the appearance of a work of art rather than symbols" she said. When she was done sketching Chloe was in awe. She had turned the three disparate symbols into a work of art.

While they were working on the sketch Sam booted up Chloe's lap top and looked up the symbol that Echo had recommended. He made a quiet phone call to someone as well probably Bobby. Whatever he found seemed to satisfy him because he put the laptop away.

"It's beautiful Echo" Chloe glanced at Sam who nodded. "Yes please I would like it just like that. How big will it be?"

Echo asked Sam to turn around and used is body to demonstrate. "It will start here and trail down your shoulder blade and end just on the other side of your spine" she said pointing to a spot in the middle of his left shoulder blade then training down and cutting in about two inches down from that and then in towards his spine.

"As long as I don't have any bruises that are bad enough to prevent it I would like to get it. You might want to keep that design handy. I am seriously going to talk my cousin into getting one too" Chloe said.

Echo turned to Sam. "If you want to bless the ink please go right ahead. I have the priestess next door bless it already, but it can't hurt to do it twice" she smiled easily at him.

Sam thanked her and took the bottle she offered him. He took a rosary out of his pocket and a piece of paper. He spoke a prayer, in perfect Latin wow, over the ink for about two minutes before passing the bottle back to Echo with his thanks.

Echo had her sit in a backwards chair that had a padded rest in front of her to lean on. Sam slipped around to sit on the right side out of the way but close enough to hold her hand. Chloe pulled off her sweater revealing the halter she had put on underneath. It belonged to Lois and was very eye catching. It was cherry red and showed a practically indecent amount of cleavage. It tied low on her back over her kidneys leaving her back almost completely bare.

Chloe grinned at Sam's dazed expression. She teased him softly, "Eyes north Casanova" before leaning down over the back of the chair.

Echo laughed behind her and started cleaning her back. She patiently explained what she was doing as she went along. Chloe turned her head towards Sam and held his eyes. She squeezed his hand when ever the discomfort got intense. It wasn't as bad as she feared it would be, but it wasn't something she would do for pleasure either.

"We are about half done now," Echo said. "Let's take a short break. Sam and I will discuss his tattoo".

Chloe was grateful for the break and made no bones about it. She wanted to look at the half finished work but Echo wouldn't let her. "I want you to get the full effect later".

Echo turned asked Sam. "Are you sure you don't want to get both symbols? I will work yours exactly where hers is but in a more masculine style. Because you were inked together with the same blessed ink at the same time it will create a sympathetic feedback. When you are together your protections will be even stronger." She sketched quickly showing him what she had in mind. You could definitely tell it was intended as the mate for her design but was essentially masculine where hers was feminine.

"Is there enough ink in that bottle to do 4 tattoos, one more each like hers and mine?" Sam asked.

"Yes I should have enough with enough left over for a couple more actually" She said.

"Would you mind holding that ink for us then? I would like her cousin and my brother to be done with the same ink as well. She lives with her and I spend most of my time with my brother, so hopefully we can still get the sympathetic feedback if it's the same design and ink" he explained.

"It should work even better if the four of you are together" Echo said.

"Do you want to continue now of should I start on him?" she asked Chloe.

"Let's just get it over with. I am better off to keep going while the endorphins are having a lovely swim through my blood stream" Chloe said causing Echo to laugh again.

"You are a cheeky girl, I like you" she said. "You are one lucky man Sam".

"I know" he said smiling.

It took two and a half more hours to complete both tattoos. It was totally worth the time though. When Chloe finally got a look at hers she was speechless. It really was a work of art. The symbols were inked in shades of gray and black across her shoulder blade with bold swirling lines and a few vines with tiny flowers enshrouding them. The work was delicate and lovely on her pale skin. She was so happy that she waited this long to get a tattoo. She couldn't imagine anything else suiting her so well.

Chloe plunked down her credit card and purposely did not look at the total when she signed for it. She was positive she didn't want to know how much it cost, but was certain it was worth every penny.

"Keep wearing your amulets if you have swelling until it goes away." Echo told her in parting. "The lines may be a bit out of whack when it is swollen and it won't be as effective."

Echo gave them both a tin of ointment to use on the tattoos and a page of instructions.

"How do you feel" Sam asked her as they stepped out of the shop.

"Free"


	9. Chapter 9

**Ineffable – 9/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Clark Kent, Lana Lang

Rating: R (Language, Violence and Adult situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Language, violence and adult situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Sam drove them back to Smallville. His tattoo didn't go as far down his back as hers did. With him being so freakishly tall his tat wasn't being pressed into the seat back like hers would have been either.

It must have been the endorphin rush from getting the tattoo but Chloe was suddenly exhausted. She laid her seat back and turned onto her right side and was asleep in moments.

Then next thing she knew Sam was waking her up at the Talon. "Sorry for conking out on you Sam" she said with a yawn.

"Don't worry about it hon. You were wiped out" he kissed her gently then helped her out of the car.

"Chloe!" she winced at hearing Lana call her name.

"Good morning Lana" Chloe wondered what her chances were that Lana hadn't seen that kiss. She figured she had better odds on winning the lottery. She turned and saw by the look in Lana's eyes that fate had not been kind to her. There was Lana in all her glorious Lana-ness looking picture perfect and smiling like the sun. Oh she had defiantly seen the kiss.

Chloe snuck a look at Sam to see how badly he was affected by the black hole of Lana. He was smiling at her. Oh just great!

"Lana this is my friend Sam Gunn, Sam this is my long time friend Lana Lang" Chloe did the obligatory introductions with a pasted on bright smile.

"It's nice to meet you Lana" Sam said shaking her hand.

"Obviously you aren't the brother that looks like Jason. Clark warned me about the resemblance" Lana smiled winningly.

"We have seen pictures and I have to admit the resemblance is freaky. Dean was completely creeped out by it" Sam said.

"Have you and Chloe been friends long? How long are you two going to be in town?" Lana asked Sam.

Okay so Clark hadn't told Lana about the ghost. She just thought they were friends of Chloe. Good she could probably get away from her before too long.

"Most likely we will be heading out in the next day or two. It's hard to say goodbye to Chloe here, but we have to leave eventually" Sam reached out and took Chloe's hand pulling her to his side.

"Well I have to get to the hardware store. Clark needs a part for the tractor. I gotta run. Call me soon Chloe so we can catch up" Lana said with a glance towards their clasped hands.

"I'll call you once the boys hit the road again Lana, we can do lunch" Chloe hugged her goodbye.

Once she had walked away Sam turned to her and said quietly. "I though she was your friend".

"Oh she is. We have been friends for years" Chloe replied.

Sam looked confused. "You immediately tensed up the moment she called your name. You didn't relax until she left".

Chloe sighed and leaned into Sam, needing to feel his arms around her. "It's a long story Sam. Lana really is a good person. There is just a long history between her, Clark and I. When we were growing up it just got old that all things must revolve around Lana. She attracts men like bees to honey. It wasn't her fault that most men got one look at her and I was invisible".

"Chloe, I am not most men. Someone like her could never appeal to me half as much as you do. Everything about you is attractive to me. I am very content with my brainy blond" he said to her tenderly.

Chloe looked up at him and smiled. "I am being an idiot aren't I? This isn't high school, and Lana is happily with Clark. I didn't think she would take you away, it's just instinctual".

Sam chuckled, "Well it's nice to know you come by those beautiful green eyes naturally."

Chloe punched him in the shoulder lightly.

"You love him don't you" Sam asked her.

"Yes I did, do. But my Clark mooning days are long over. It was a school girl crush. He is the best friend I could ever hope to have, but his heart will always belong to Lana. I don't love him in that way anymore" Chloe told him seriously.

Sam pulled her into his chest and held her close. "Good"

They found Dean in front of the TV upstairs munching his way through a bag of Cheetos.

"Lana is in town. If we get moving right away we may be able to get in and out of the Kent farm without any awkward Lana moments with Dean" Chloe said.

Dean got up and grabbed his jacket. Apparently he was all for skipping the awkwardness as well.

"Wasn't she headed right back to the farm?" Sam asked.

"You don't know Lana" Chloe grinned, "She will stop and talk to at least 3 or 4 people before she makes it out of town. So we have a chance if we hurry".

Chloe grabbed a couple of her pills and quickly swallowed them down. One quick bathroom break and she was ready to go.

They hopped into the Impala and headed off to the Kent Farm with admirable swiftness.

"She seemed pretty sweet to me Chloe" Sam said. "I think she would be fine meeting Dean".

"She probably will meet him. I don't think we will be lucky enough to miss her when we drop the truck off later" Chloe said. She stifled a giggle when Dean shifted uncomfortably.

They got to the Kent Farm in short order. The warm sun of the last few days had melted the thin cover of snow on the ground. Everything was grey and brown and depressing. Lana's SUV wasn't in the driveway. Dean pulled the Impala up beside the barn out of the way. Clark was bent over working on the tractor engine when they walked in.

"Morning Clark" Chloe said brightly. "Old lady die on you again"?

"Yeah, not sure what's wrong with her. My truck keys are hanging on the peg, help yourself" He said.

Chloe headed toward the house to grab the keys. Dean and Clark started talking engines before she got more that two feet away. She snagged the keys and headed over to Clarks truck. There were a couple shovels, two pair of work gloves, a pick axe, a battered orange water cooler and a couple folding chairs already in the bed of the truck. Chloe grinned; sometimes you just had to love that farm boy. The gloves must have been his dad's. Chloe made a vow to herself to make sure Clark got them back.

Sam came up beside her and tossed a duffle into the bed of the truck. "Looks like he already has half the stuff we need loaded" Sam said. "It will be nice to dig with full size shovels for once".

"Clark really is a great friend" Chloe smiled.

"We had better go haul Dean outta there or we will be waiting for hours" Sam said.

"Do I sense a blooming bromance there?" Chloe chuckled.

"Anyone who can take an engine apart and put it back together is good folk in my brother's estimation" Sam commented as they headed into the barn. "Dean Time to roll".

"I'll see if I can help you out if you are still having problems with it when we get back," Dean said standing up from where he was crouched examining the engine.

Clark got up too and crossed over to hug Chloe goodbye being careful not to touch her with his greasy hands. "Start with the one on the left" he whispered into her ear.

"Don't let her do any digging no matter how stubborn she is. She still has a cracked rib." Clark said as they walked towards the truck.

Dean hopped into the driver's seat. "I wouldn't have let her anyway. That's what Sammy is for, manual labor".

Sam flipped his brother off as he opened the passenger door and helped Chloe in.

"Hey, Lana made us lunch too" She said finding a basket with food on the seat. "Thank her for me Clark. She didn't have to go to so much trouble".

"You know Lana" he said.

After they had pulled out of the driveway Chloe commented softly. "Sometimes with all the other stuff going on, I forget just how incredible Lana can be".

Pulling her against his side Sam asked "What do we have in there, I am starving".

"Fried chicken so you will have to wait until we get there to eat it. We are not getting chicken grease all over Clark's truck" Chloe slapped his hand as he reached into the basket.

With the higher suspension on Clark's truck they were able to pull right up into the farmstead. Chloe and Sam got out to clear any metal objects before Dean pulled up by the foundation. Sam put down the tailgate and unfolded the chairs in front of it. Putting the basket in the bed of the truck he laid a blanket he had found in the truck over the tailgate and started pulling out the food.

"Fried chicken, biscuits, potato salad and Pie!" Dean said taking a bit of chicken. "I think I am in love".

Chloe laughed at him. "You told me that just last night when I made you a steak. What a fickle man you are. I swear I am heartbroken".

"There will always be room for you in my heart beautiful, you will just have to share living quarters" Dean said.

Chloe grabbed a drumstick and took a bite moaning in pleasure. "Okay, I am in love with her and I don't swing that way! This is almost as good as Mrs. Kent's chicken. I wonder if she is using her recipe".

Sam had to remind them not to over eat. It wouldn't be good to try and do a lot of walking and digging if they were stuffed full. "The chicken will still be there when we are done Dean" Sam reprimanded Dean when he looked longingly at the basket Chloe was repacking.

"I am going to check around that field behind the house. Sammy, take the field over on the left. Chloe you take the farm house yard and out building area, and don't go climbing into any dark holes without getting one of us first" Dean gave out assignments.

"Yes mom" Chloe snarked back at him.

They all headed out to search their assigned areas. About fifteen minutes later Sam yelled, "Over here Dean!"

Chloe headed towards the sound of his voice and found him kneeling in front of three large stones beneath an old oak tree. Chloe wondered if the stones had been there all along or if Clark had placed them. She couldn't tell just by look. She would have to ask him later. "I'll go back and get the truck.

Chloe walked back to the farmstead checking the ground as she went to make sure it would be okay to drive over. Hoping into the truck she drove right up to the gravesite.

Dean opened the tailgate and pulled out one of the chairs setting it up to the side of the graves. Chloe pulled out one of the shovels and stuck it into the dirt over top of the grave on the left hoping to influence them to dig there first.

Dean took the shovel from her and started digging. "You go sit down" he said firmly.

Chloe grinned as she took her seat. Men were so easy. She smiled up at Sam as he brought over the blanket and wrapped it around her. "Stay warm hon" he kissed her on the lips then grabbed the other shovel and started digging the grave on the right.

Chloe was puzzled that they were digging two then realized that they would have to dig up all three graves to make sure they got the Judge. The guys didn't have their very own personal alien telling them which was the right grave. The gravestones were not marked. Chloe thought about turning on the truck radio but decided against it. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

"Should I pull the truck back over to the farmstead? That way anyone who sees it will check for us there first" Chloe asked.

"Great idea Chloe, let me get the rest of the stuff out first" Sam said. He grabbed the pickaxe, water cooler, folding chairs and the plastic tumblers they had used during lunch.

Chloe pulled the truck back over to the farmstead and walked back to the gravesite taking her seat. She wondered if they would have enough time to salt and burn all three corpses.

The boys made quicker work of digging than Chloe would have thought. She already knew both of them were in good shape. Of the two of them she had only seen Dean shirtless. She had felt Sam's chest through his shirt. She had been pressed tightly against it, laid on top of him even. She knew he was ripped. Hidden underneath his loose fitting shirts was a body to drool over. He had only shrugged one shoulder out of his shirt at the tattoo parlor, so while she got a peek that was it.

Wasn't that odd to see the brother shirtless before she had seen her,… well what did she call Sam? Boy friend seemed juvenile, but there weren't lovers, yet. It was only her injuries that had prevented them from already being so. While she defiantly would not have regretted becoming lovers with Sam, in a way she was glad they were forced to take things slow physically. Emotionally she was already in way over her head. Keeping things as they were physically gave her some sense of balance. Being horny wasn't going to kill her after all. Significant other sounded kind of yuppie, but it was the best she could come up with.

Chloe must have nodded off again because the next thing she knew she woke up to the smell of smoke. Both of the brothers had finished digging and they were burning the bodies at the same time.

"Two down one to go" Chloe said.

"Good morning princess," Dean said.

"Bite me Dean".

"Pick a place beautiful".

"The one of the left was male, the one on the right was female," Sam interupted.

"We decided to go ahead and burn both of them" he explained. "It's not going to harm any spirit that have already crossed over, and there aren't any known relatives remaining in this area to care".

"This guy was about the right height for the Judge". Dean commented. "Hopefully we didn't attract any attention with the smoke".

"Lots of people have fireplaces so hopefully no one will think anything of it" Chloe replied.

Once the fires had burned out they reburied the bodies and placed the sod back down tamping it in with their boots. By the end of summer no one would even be able to tell they had been dug up.

They both started digging up the third grave, working from separate ends. Once they got down a couple feet they had to trade off digging because there wasn't enough room for both of them.

Clark called her and asked her how things were going. She let him know they were two thirds done.

"You know I could have done that in less than 10 minutes" Clark commented.

"The exercise is good for the boys" Chloe replied getting flipped off by Dean. "So how was your morning Clark?" Chloe hinted for Clark to fill her in.

"Finding the graves was the easy part. I had to go all the way to the quarry to get those stones" he said.

"Such is the life of a hard working farm boy," Chloe replied "Thank you for the loan of the truck". She hoped he knew she was thanking him for more than that.

"Tell Lana that all three of us loved the lunch. The chicken was amazing" Chloe said.

Dean leaned over and spoke into the mouth piece, "Amazing!"

Clark laughed and promised to let her know. "I am handing Dean the phone," Chloe said when he held out his hand.

Dean asked him about the tractor and they spoke back and forth for several minutes in that odd language that repair people use. Chloe mainly tuned it out and watched Sam. Her back was starting to bother her. The area where she had the tattoo felt like bad sunburn. They really should have done more care on them already. They would need to take care of it once the got back.

Chloe got up and walked over to Sam. "How are you doing handsome? Is your shoulder bothering you"?

"Some not too bad" He looked up at her leaning on his shovel.

"You know I just came over here so I could be taller than you for once" Chloe grinned.

Sam laughed. "Come closer and I will show you what it feels like to kiss a midget. I always get a crick in my neck".

Chloe leaned down and gave Sam a sweet kiss. "Well all good things come at a price".

"Knock it off lovebirds, get to work Sammy"

Chloe shrugged and headed back to her seat. Dean was resting in the chair beside her.

"You doing okay princess? I know you got pretty beat up yesterday" Dean asked her quietly as if embarrassed to be checking up on her.

"I'm good Dean. Wish I had brought my pills with me right about now, but I'll take them when I get back" She said.

Dean dug through their duffle and handed her a bottle of Advil. "Take a couple of those for now; they shouldn't react with what you are taking".

"Thanks Dean, you are sweet." Chloe kissed him on the cheek just to fluster him.

"Don't go spreading that around you will ruin my image" Dean said.

"Whatever you say Florence".

Sam cursed and leaned over to grab the pick axe. "Another damn root" he said muttering under his breath. Sam grunted with effort as he swung the axe over and over.

Oh so that is why Clark put the axe in the truck. Yet another thing she needed to thank him for.

Dean still flirted with her outrageously, but it had a much different feel since last night. It was, oddly enough, brotherly. It was totally different than the way he had treated her before she made it obvious that she was falling for Sam. Chloe liked the change in him a lot.

Now that she wasn't fending him off sexually it was easier to see the man underneath. He was really bossy, but brave and hardworking. He did considerate things in an offhand manner so you didn't quite notice them if you weren't paying attention. He had a smart mouth that rivaled hers. That he cared a lot for his brother was obvious. She was actually kind of surprised to discover that she like him. He was a hero and that was the kind of man she would always stand beside.

Chloe smiled at Dean thinking it was good they would be able to get along.

"What?" Dean asked catching her look.

"I have decided that I like you Dean Winchester" Chloe said.

"umm, thanks?" Dean shook his head. Chloe just laughed.

A few minutes later Dean said. "I like you too princess".

Chloe rolled her eyes; of course that one of all his nicknames for her would be the one to stick. She would just have to think of a good one to stick him with too.

"Don't be a stranger after you guys leave okay. I am only a phone call away if you need anything. Call me if you need help with research or if you get into trouble. I'll help you guys anyway I can" Chloe said.

"I'll keep that in mind". Dean went to trade places with his brother. Chloe guessed that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. She didn't think that Dean let many people get close to him. She wouldn't let that stop her though, she had a feeling he needed someone to talk to even more than Sam did. That is if she could ever get him to actually talk.

Sam stayed by the edge of the grave after crawling out. From how much of Dean was invisible in the hole, Chloe guessed that they were almost done. She would be relieved when this was over. Chloe decided to walk over and get the truck. From the look of things they would be leaving soon. Chloe started to pack up what she could. The boys were too dirty to eat so she put the basket back in the cab of the truck.

Pouring a glass of water she carried it over to Sam. He accepted it with a smile and drank half of it in one long drink.

"Looks like you are just about done here" she said.

Chloe heard a thunk. From the hollow sound she realized that Dean had stuck the coffin. Thank goodness. Dean carefully finished digging out the coffin and popped it open revealing a skeleton. Sam reached down and helped Dean out of the grave. Then he salted the corpse and poured lighter fluid on it. Dean pulled out a pack of matches and lit the whole thing dropping it into the grave.

"Rest in peace" Chloe whispered softly. Sam held her hand while they watched the fire burn out.

"We will be out of here soon sweet heart". Sam kissed her softly.

He used his shovel to flip the lid closed on the coffin and started to fill in the grave. Chloe backed up to give Dean room to help. She sighed in relief. With any luck this would be the end of the haunting. It was odd to feel sad about it, but she knew that meant that Sam would be leaving soon.

Chloe finished the rest of the packing up and climbed into the cab of the truck. She wanted a few moments alone to compose herself. There was no use in regretting him leaving while he was still there. Better to enjoy every moment that she had.

Chloe heard the shovels hit the bed of the truck and the boys slid into the cab on either side of her. For once Chloe didn't lean into Sam. Not because she was upset, the boy was filthy!

"I say we steal Lana's picnic basket, and go home so you two can clean up. Then we can kill off everything left in the basket while watching a movie" Chloe said.

"That sounds perfect to me Chloe" Dean replied.

They dropped off Clark's truck getting his permission to steal the picnic basket. Lana was off somewhere so they were able to get in and out fairly quickly.

Dean stole the shower first claiming seniority. Chloe asked Sam to take off his shirt and sit down at the table. Chloe was amazed when he complied. She knew he had muscles but, OH My God! How was it possible that this sexy man beast actually wanted her? Her eyes trailed up his body slowly. Her lips parted slightly as she panted just a bit.

"Chloe," Sam said in a husky needy voice.

Chloe swallowed and took a step back. "Sit down and let me take a look at your tattoo. We need to clean it up and put the ointment on".

Sam sat down and let her pull the bandage off his shoulder. Chloe got an old worn out T-shirt and a bowl of warm water. She gently cleansed the area. "It's beautiful Sam. Echo does amazing work".

"She will likely get a lot more work like this in the future. I am going to talk to her about it, but I plan on making a post about her on the message board. It's good to have someone competent to do work for us" he said.

"I am sure she will appreciate the business".

"Most hunters aren't quite as knowledgeable about these kinds of things so I may just have her design a standard protection set for Hunters. Then all they will need to do is go in and ask for the H set or something like that".

"That sounds like an excellent idea. People who do the job you do should have all the help we can provide them" she said with a kiss.

Dean came out of the bathroom, shirtless again, and walked up to them. "Sammy you got another tattoo?"

"Protection from spirit possession and Dark magic" Sam replied. "She has enough ink left to do you if you want to get them as well. Echo said if all get them as a set the protection will be stronger when we are together. Chloe is going to get Lois to get one also".

"You are sure these are effective?" Dean asked.

"I already knew the one for magic. I called Bobby and checked on the internet about the spirit possession one. It checked out as legitimate. I figured it was worth a try either way. At worst I got a really nice looking tattoo. Echo does amazing work. Wait until you see Chloe's tattoo"

"I am going to go grab a shower Chloe, I will clean your tat for you when I am finished" Sam said. He leaned over and kisses her then whispered in her ear. "Do you have something else to wear I won't regret letting Dean see you in? I don't think I ever want another man to see you wear that red thing".

Chloe laughed. "Yes I do jealous boy. Go get your shower".

"Good" He whispered. "All I could think about every time you sat up was pushing the fabric aside and licking your nipples until you moaned for me just like you did yesterday".

Chloe shivered at his sexually charge words. God that sounded good to her too. Maybe she would have to see if Lois would let her keep the halter. Chloe slipped into her room and changed out of the sweater and halter she was wearing. She put on one of her own halters that was much more modest. She had thought about wearing this one this morning but it came halfway up her back and Chloe hadn't wanted to risk having to take her top off to get the tattoo. Chloe pulled on a hoodie over it and went back out into the living room.

"What time is sunset?" Dean asked her as she entered the room.

Chloe went over to her laptop and looked it up. Sunset is at 5:12. Twilight is at 5:40.

"We will have to skip the movie. But we still have time to eat" Dean said.

Chloe unpacked the rest of their lunch out on the table. There was probably enough left for the boys. Chloe peeked into the fridge and decided to make a salad. Her diet had been horrible the last couple days with the boys around. It wouldn't hurt her to have salad for dinner. Chloe made a big salad putting it in a serving bowl. She put salad bowls and dressing on the table as well. She doubted the boys would want any, but figured it was better to offer in hopes of a vegetable actually passing Dean's lips.

Sam came out of the bathroom holding a pile of dirty clothes and stuffed them into the same large bag that Dean had put his. From the looks of it they really needed to do laundry as well.

"There is a washer and dryer downstairs in the back. They are actually Lois' so feel free to use them. Lana let Lois and I put them down there. And we let the talon employees use them to wash their aprons and hand towels. There is no room in the apartment for them and I hate laundry mats" Chloe said. "So it's win-win all around."

"Thanks Chloe. Is it okay to leave things in there overnight?" he asked.

There is a basket on top of the dryer. It's sort of the lost and found basket. You put anything you find that doesn't belong to you in there, up to and including a complete load of laundry." Chloe explained. "So if they need the wash something they will just put your stuff in there. Now if it is folded or not depends on who is working."

They sat down to eat dinner. Sam put lettuce in a bowl and thunked it down in front of his brother who gave him the evil eye. He then filled another bowl and offered it to Chloe before getting some for himself.

"Chloe, I want to thank you for putting us up for the last couple days. It has been real nice to spend time in a home rather than a hotel" Sam said.

"I really should be the one thanking you guys. I was completely out of my depth and you drove all night to come rescue me. You didn't need drive all night, you didn't even have to come at all, but you did. I don't know what I would have done without you two. I don't know what would have happened if I had found that farmstead while I was alone." Chloe said. Sam reached out and took her hand comfortingly.

"I would like to think I would have eventually found it myself. I would probably have had to send Clark in to talk to Miss Lily. She really doesn't like me." Chloe said grinning at Dean.

"Evil woman" Dean said affectionately to Chloe.

"Brat" she tossed back.

They finished there meal mostly in silence. Food this good definitely deserved your full attention. Once, they were done Dean cleared the table while Sam cleaned her tattoo.

"It looks good Chloe, not too swollen. Does it hurt much?" Sam asked.

"Frankly it's nothing compared to the rib, I hardly notice it." Chloe admitted truthfully. "And yes I took my pills when we got back".

Dean came over to take a look at Chloe's tattoo. "Wow. Princess that is one gorgeous tattoo you have. I can see where it's similar to Sammy's but yours is fit for a princess". Dean leaned close to examine it. "Three symbols, demon possession and the other two that Sammy got. Good. It's good to know you are protected".

Sam's hands were very gentle as he cleansed the area then applied the ointment over her tattoo. "Wish I could be here to do this for you until it healed".

Chloe sighed. "I wish you could be here period, but you have a job to do. Lois will be back in a couple days."

"We have to get going soon if we are going to be at the house before nightfall. Chloe, I know you aren't going to like this but I am going to ask you to stay home tonight. Trust me; it's not that I think you can't take care of yourself. You have been beaten up enough in the last couple days and I don't want to take a chance on you getting hurt again. If you take a fall on that cracked rib it could break entirely. That would take much longer to heal up. You would be in pain for months on end. We can handle this. It's a small house two people are more that enough for the job." Sam said in a calm persuasive voice.

"I would like to fight with you about that, but frankly I am more relieved. I am tired and sore. I just want to curl up in front of the TV and not move until next week sometime. I am going to call Lana and ask her to go into ISIS for me tomorrow." She admitted.

Sam leaned over and kissed her goodbye. "Thank you sweetheart, we are going to stay there until about 3am to make sure there isn't any activity. So don't wait up for us".

Sam took the laundry bag with them as they left so she assumed he was going to throw a load in on the way out. Chloe figured she could go down and switch it to the dryer after her movie. Chloe put the first X-men movie in her DVD player and curled up on the couch alone wishing Sam was there with her.

Pulling out her cell phone she called Clark's house. Clark answered and she explained to him what she was going to do and then asked to speak with Lana.

Chloe asked Lana if she could take care of things at ISIS for her tomorrow. When Lana asked why she told her the truth. She explained that she had taken a tumble down some stairs and had a cracked rib and bruised hip. She didn't need to know only the hip had happened in the fall. Lana told her to take the next two days off and told her she was on her way over right now to check on her. Chloe told her to just use her key to get in so she wouldn't have to get up once she started the movie.

Chloe hung up with a sigh. She knew that was coming. Lana would want to make sure for herself that Chloe was okay. She would probably bring her goodies too. Well at least that would make Dean happy. Chloe scanned the room quickly and hid away any suspicious items in her bed room. She didn't want Lana figuring out that the guys were staying with her if she could help it.

Chloe curled up on the couch again and started her movie. She was just getting to the part where Saber tooth attacked when she heard the key in the door. Chloe hit pause and turned to greet Lana as she came in. Clark was right behind her carrying a basket with muffins in it. Chloe grinned to herself. That should make Dean happy at least.

Lana spent the next 30 mins fluffing pillows, getting her an ice pack and just generally fussing over her. She even washed the dishes from dinner and repacked her basket to take back with them. She was very dismayed at the dark bruises on Chloe's body. Chloe assured her that the doctor said she just had a cracked rib. Lana told Clark to double check that for her. When Chloe shrugged Clark x-rayed her closely confirming it was just a crack. When Lana went into the kitchen to make Chloe a hot cup of tea Clark told her quietly that she needed to take it easier. He said the crack on her rib was bigger than it had been yesterday and if she wasn't careful she was going to hurt herself. Chloe promised she would be taking it easy with the next two days off. She was sure her rib would get better with a little rest.

When Lana came back however she told her to take the rest of the week off. She even offered to take her Friday night group session, but Chloe insisted that she had to do that one herself.

"I am just getting the kids to trust me, I don't want to risk that relationship" Chloe told her. Lana agreed that she could go in for the group session only if she stayed home until Monday.

Lana curled up beside her on the couch and the three of them watched the rest of the movie together and the next in the series as well. It was almost 10 by then and Clark and Lana kept farmers hours so they headed home.

Chloe smiled to herself. It had been nice to spend time with them. For once she could be at ease them and not envy their relationship. She wasn't thinking about what she had lost, but what she had gained. Chloe began to wonder how much her perception of Lana had been colored by her own bitterness. It really didn't make her feel good about herself to realize just how much it really had. Lana wasn't perfect and if anyone deserved the nickname Princess it was her, but Chloe promised herself that she would be better to her in the future. One thing Chloe knew for sure, introspection sucked!

Chloe put in the third DVD and turned it on, but she wasn't really watching it. She made the couch up into a bed and curled up half asleep already. Long before the movie ended, she was fast asleep.

Chapter 10 -


	10. Chapter 10

**Ineffable – 10/10**

By Deliciously Weird

Pairing: Chloe/Sam

Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Clark Kent, Lana Lang

Rating: R (Language, Violence and Adult situations)

Series: At Home in Your Heart – Book 1

Description: Sometimes weird things happen in our lives. If you are Chloe Sullivan, it happens every day. When you are Chloe you just can't say no when someone asks for help, even if you are out of your depth.

Warnings: Language, violence and adult situations. This is round about late season 7 Smallville. Chloe is not with Jimmy. Things are likely to go even more off Canon as the story progresses. If things don't seem quite right to you, it's intentional. I am gently pushing some time lines around to suit my purpose. I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I love them and cherish them and squeeze them and call the George.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters from 'Supernatural' are property of Eric  
Kripke/CW. All characters, references, and other things pertaining to 'Smallville' are property of the WB, DC Comics, Tollin-Robins, Al Gough & Miles Millar, and J. Siegal & J. Shuster. I make no money for my labors, only friends.

Chloe woke up when Sam and Dean got home about 4am. She stood up and looked them over. They seemed to be fine.

"So?"

"As far as we can tell the house is clean now" Dean said "both Meta-physically and physically by the way. Miss Samantha home maker here decided that as long as we had nothing better to do we might as well clean the place up".

"Thank you guys, I am sure that Angela will appreciate that a lot" Chloe smiled. "It will be a great relief to have her home back".

"Really that spirit had it coming. Anything that would trash a big old plasma like that, was asking for it" Dean quipped.

Chloe felt awkward. She wasn't sure what to say at this point. She didn't want to mention them leaving and perhaps chase them out early. She did want to let them know they were welcome to stay longer if they wished as well.

"Lois won't be home for a couple more days, you two are welcome to stay here and rest up until she gets back" Chloe offered.

Sam smiled tiredly at Chloe. "That's good Chloe thank you. Dean has an appointment with Echo tomorrow afternoon. He doesn't need a babysitter, so I thought I might stay here and do laundry if that is okay with you".

Chloe grinned at Sam and walked over to wrap her arms around his waist. "I just can't begin to tell you how much I hate, deplore and all around despise that idea". Chloe rested her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"That's what I thought you would say" Sam laughed.

"Good night guys" Dean said headed to Lois' room.

Chloe pulled Sam along towards her bedroom. "You should go to bed hon, you must be exhausted. Let me put more ointment on your shoulder before you go to sleep".

Chloe walked across the room and got her tin of ointment out of her purse. She turned around to find Sam in her bed room. He was unbuttoning his shirt. Chloe took a deep breath trying to still her rapid pulse. God he was just beautiful to look at she thought as he pulled his shirt off and laid it over the back of her chair.

Sam crossed the room to stand in front of her. "We should put some on yours as well" he said as he unzipped her hoodie and pushed it off her shoulders.

Walked behind him she gently spread ointment over his tattoo. It looked pretty good to her, not that she had much experience with tattoos. Chloe placed a kiss on his right shoulder blade. He smelled good. Chloe ran her hands down the musculature of his back. He was very strong, but she wasn't afraid of him at all.

Sam turned around pulling one of her hands up to kiss the inside of her wrist. "Thank you sweet heart". He took a hold of her shoulders and turned her around taking the tin from her hand. He gently spread the ointment over her tattoo. His hands ran down her arms in a gentle caress turning her to face him again. Chloe leaned towards him instinctively, lips finding warm flesh, she pressed closed mouthed kisses over his pecs. Chloe could feel his muscles moving under her lips as he reached up. His right hand buried in her curls and forced her mouth up to meet his kiss. His lips were hard and demanding. She parted her lips with a welcoming sigh as he backed her gently into the door. He leaned up against her plundering her mouth possessively.

"Chloe, I know we can't, but God let me do this much" Sam said desperately as he trailed his mouth down her neck. He was wildly passionate, biting her flesh gently as he pushed against her. His hands came up to rest on her waist holding her prisoner between his hard flesh and the unforgiving door.

Chloe's head was swimming under his sensual assault. She gasped a few words helpless. "God Sam, please yes" She wasn't even sure what he wanted, but she didn't have it in her to deny him whatever he needed.

Sam pulled her mouth back to his thrusting his tongue into her mouth moaning at her compliance. He stepped back from her still holding her against the door with his hands and stopped for a moment. He took several long deep breaths before taking her hand and leading her to the side of the bed. "Let me know if I hurt you. I need to touch you, but if you are hurting then we will stop".

Chloe's legs were trembling so that she was afraid she would not be able to walk the four feet required to reach the side of the bed. So far Sam was an exquisite lover and she could not wait until he showed her what he had in mind.

He gently laid her down on the bed, laying down beside her stroking her hair back off of her face. "You are so beautiful" he said as he trailed a finger down her cheek. "I love that you want me as much as I desire you" He dragged his thumb over her lower lip. Then he bent to replace it with his lips in a warm thorough kiss.

"I loved how you leaned into me at the tattoo parlor, how you let everyone in the store know you were mine". He slid his hand to the back of her neck. "And you are mine aren't you?" He asked her as he took a hold of the tie to her halter and pulled the string slowly free.

"Yes" Chloe answered breathlessly.

Sam leaned over to kiss her again passionately. "Mine. You are mine." He trailed kisses down her neck with a moan. "And I am yours Chloe".

"Mine" Chloe said tangling her fingers in his hair. She was captivated by his touch his words as he made love to her without any intention of completion. It was tender and hard, passionate and loving. Chloe knew she was lost to this man in her bed.

Sam tangled his fingers in the tie of her halter and slowly pulled it down. Chloe panted for breath as he exposed her breasts an inch at a time. His eyes were devouring her body voraciously. "Mine" He whispered again. He trailed the back side of his hand over her right breast slowly. Her nipple responded to his touch by rising slowly into a peak.

"I wanted to touch your breasts so much this morning. I was half hard the moment you took your sweater off." He turned his hand over, fingers teasing feather light brushes over her nipple making her gasp and arch up into the touch. "I knew they were mine to touch. Your body told me all morning that you belonged to me. I dreamed all day of what I would do tonight. How I would take you into your bed and claim your lovely breasts with my mouth".

Chloe was on fire. She thought she would go mad if he didn't lick her nipples like he had threatened earlier. His sensual promise had stuck vividly in her mind. She raised her hand running it slowly over his chest loving the feel of his strength.

He took her hand and placed it gently on the bed beside her. "Don't love. I can't bear you to touch me right now and be in control enough not to hurt you" he said with a gentle kiss. "Allow me this Chloe. I need to touch you" he said desperately "I need to claim you somehow, make you mine before I can stand leave you".

Chloe allowed herself to live in the moment, to surrender to their desires. "If you need something, then take it Sam. I will not deny you".

He gasped then groaned at her words. "You are going to drive me mad woman".

His hand closed around her right breast kneading it slowly. "So beautiful" he said fervently. His mouth went back to her neck nibbling gently along the length. Chloe moaned and arched towards him wanting more, needing more. His hand closed firmly around her breast as his teeth grazed her neck again. Chloe moan again louder at the sensation. God she loved the feel of his hands, his teeth. Her body was practically shaking with passion and he was barely touching her. His mouth moved slowly down her shoulder then over her clavicle nibbling and licking as he went. His hand slid over to her left breast. It was aching for the same attention that the right was getting.

"Please Sam please" she begged in a husky voice.

"Please what love, what do you need?" he asked her softly. "Tell me what you want".

"Lick me, suck me" she moaned out "Please Sam." Chloe was glad Dean was on the other side of the apartment for surely they could be heard in the living room by now.

"No, tell me what you really want. What you ache for. What you want me to do to you. What you want me to make you." He demanded huskily.

Chloe felt herself grow very wet as he continued to assault both her senses and her mind. "God Sam" She moaned again as his fingers gently pinched the nipple of her left breast sending a bolt of pleasure through her body.

"Say it my love. Tell me what you need" Sam demanded in that soft loving voice. His mouth was barely an inch from her nipple, his breath brushing over it as he spoke.

"God" Chloe sobbed. "Yours Sam. Make me yours, claim my body with your mouth, with you hands".

Sam groaned and closed his mouth over her aching nipple sucking it hard. His teeth closed around it while his tongue laved back and forth on the very tip. Chloe moan louder hands grasping the bed spread to keep from touching him. "Please Sam please" She said panting under him.

Sam's hand closed around her left breast kneading it firmly and lifting it towards his mouth. Sam licked at the pebble hard nipple over and over. "Mine!" He said firmly then closed his teeth over the soft flesh of her breast and started to bite into her. He was gentle at first then slowly bit harder and harder as she moaned and started to rock her hips in passionate realease. Keeping his teeth locked on her breast he let go with his hand. Gravity pulled down the weight of her breast making the bite fiercer and Chloe cried out. "Yes. God yes!"

Sam slid his hand down her body to her thighs pushing them apart, urging her to spread her legs for him. "Open my love" he said as he finally let go of the flesh in his teeth. A livid purple mark rose on her skin where his mouth had been.

Chloe let her legs fall wide at his urging thrusting her hips up helplessly. God this was incredible. She wanted more. She wanted it Now. She wanted to fuck him so badly. Sam hooked his right leg over her right leg holding it in place, making her keep her legs spread wide for him.

Sam ran his hand down the inside of her thigh slowly until his hand was resting over her sex. Her cotton sleep pants the only thing between his fingers and her aching heat. The fabric beneath his fingers was damp with her desire.

"Oh you are so wet for me Chloe. Do you want me? Want me to touch you, fuck you, claim you" he asked hoarsely?

"Yes, god yes." Chloe moaned. "I want you so much Sam".

Sam moaned loudly like he was in pain and thrust against her right hip. He was rigid beneath his jeans. He leaned up to kiss her again. He kissed her deeply, passionately his tongue thrusting into her mouth over and over as he rocked against her hip.

"Once you are healed my love, nothing will stop me from claiming you completely. I will do it thoroughly and repeatedly, again and again and again until you beg me to stop".

Chloe shuddered and kissed him for all she was worth. She wanted him so badly right now. She knew the moment they tried it would cause her pain and this would stop, but that barely held her back from molesting him.

"For now, since I can't enjoy your body, I want you to give me your passion" he said as his hand closed over her sex.

Chloe parted her legs as far as she could with a moan. She could feel her wetness soaking through her pants. His hand must already be damp with it.

Sam started to rub his fingers back and forth over her. His mouth latched onto her right nipple again as his fingers teased her. "Oh yes Chloe. Open for me love" Sam said as he started to rub her again, using his fingers to spread her open under her pants. He pressed his middle finger in tight between her lips and found her clit.

Chloe jerked hard and moan louder at the first touch of his finger to her sensitive clitoris.

"Oh that's it lover, I am going to make you cum so hard for me" he whispered huskily. Then he closed his teeth over her nipple biting delicately. His fingers spreading kept her open wide and wanton as his middle finger rubbed against her clit slowly at first, the faster, and faster.

Chloe moan and arched into his touch. God yes. She just needed, just a little. "Sam,… so.,.. please… gonna"

Sam bit down harder on Chloe's tender nipple. The feeling was intense a burning throbbing ache of pleasure. Chloe felt it explode through her body in waves of intense pleasure. It rippled through her like heat flowing over her body as she cried out his name loudly. She felt consumed in pleasure like never before. She gasped for air, then again and again unable to catch her breath. Sam slowed his finger then stop it keeping his hand resting over her sex possessively. God it felt like the top of her head was going to come off.

Sam laid down beside her gently resting against her body pressing soft kisses on her forehead. Chloe started giggling. She buried her head against his chest in a helpless fit. She guessed it was excess endorphins coursing through her body.

"Okay, I must admit that is a new one for me" Sam said softly. "I hope it's a good thing".

"It is" Chloe choked out between chuckles. "I just,… I feel" and then she had to stop to giggle again. She gasped in a couple of breaths to try and get control of herself.

"It's okay love, I understand" he said in a warm amused tone.

"That was hands down" giggle "the most amazing orgasm of my life". She managed to choke out.

"Really? Good." He rested his cheek on top of her head. "I wouldn't want to pale in comparison to your other lovers."

"Lover singular and you over shot the goal by miles with neither of us naked" Chloe told him sincerely.

"Singular? You have only had one lover before?" he whispered incredulously.

"Well, I am just not a promiscuous kind of lady" she replied. "Plus honestly I have spent a lot of time standing in first Lana's shadow, then Lois' shadow".

"They are all fools if they couldn't see you" he said. "I have to admit my possessive little heart is very glad to hear it. I don't want to share your bed with memories of other men. You are mine and I won't ever share you".

Chloe sighed and snuggled in against him. "You won't have to Sam. I can't think of another man when I am in your arms. That is the first time I have ever had a giggling fit after sex though. Not that I have a lot to compare this with".

"Good" he said with a smile. "I will have to see if I can make you do it again. It may take some intense research".

"You do know you are just this side of scary possessive right?" she asked him.

"Yes. I know" he said with a grimace. "If it bothers you I will try to not to express it".

"Actually not really, I found the words falling from your lips as sexy as you using those lips on my body" she said. "You can be possessive as you like Sam as long as it stays in the bedroom".

"I will never be easy with you around strange men Chloe." Sam said reluctantly.

"That is not exactly what I meant Sam. I really didn't mind your behavior this morning at all. In a situation like that it made me feel protected, cherished even" she admitted.

"You are Chloe, you will be" he said. "I would never let anything hurt you when we are together".

"So, in a situation like that it would be fine. If you start pulling that shit with my friends and coworkers you will be in a world of hurt Mister" she threatened. "Nor do I expect you to behave like that at a museum or in the middle of a mall".

"I get it Chloe" he said. "I can only be an ass in those instances where the possibility of actual threat or unwelcome attention is present".

"Pretty much yep." She said kissing his chest. "Though putting your arm around me at the mall, zoo, what have you would be fine".

Sam chuckled. "I can live with that Chloe. We will just have to work it out together".

Chloe nodded then sighed and yawned.

"Sleepy again? You have been napping all day" he commented.

"I know. I started this party short on sleep. I guess it just caught up with me finally".

"Your body is healing and needs it, let's get some rest" he said. "Stay with me?"

"No place I would rather be" Chloe replied. "I'll be right back".

Chloe grabbed a clean pair of sleep pants and ran to the bathroom quick. She came back to find Sam already in bed. He was on the left side, so she climbed in on the right. She noted that he placed her injured rib and hip on the side away from him. That was just like him, quietly considerate, placing her where she was least likely to be damaged.

Chloe climbed into bed and rolled onto her side resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you Chloe" Sam said as he wrapped his arm around her and held her gently against him.

"What for?"

"Accepting me for who I am" He said kissing her forehead.

They slept in late the next morning curled around each other. Chloe woke up slowly stretching her limbs tentatively to see how much she was going to hurt. She looked up to see Sam watching her with a smile. "Good morning love" he said sleepily.

"Good morning hon" Chloe responded with a yawn. "What time is it"?

"11:30"

"Wow that late" She closed her eyes and snuggled back into his chest.

Sam laughed causing her head to bounce. She glared at him.

"Time to rise and shine sleepy head" Sam said in what she was sure was a purposefully annoyingly chipper voice.

"I will rise, but I will not shine".

Sam chuckled as he untangled himself and slid out of bed. "Will you cancel the hit on me if I start the coffee"?

Chloe opened one bleary eye. "Coffee?"

"I'll take that as a yes" He said heading out to the main room.

Chloe heard Dean make a suggestive remark about them sleeping together to Sam before he closed the door. Oh just great, she thought. She was kind of hoping he would be gone already.

Succumbing to the inevitable Chloe grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her. She made the walk of shame through the Living room to the bathroom quickly refusing to look at Dean. Chloe was just about ready to step into the shower when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?"

"Coffee for you hon" Sam said.

Chloe snuck her hand out the crack in the door and hauled the coffee back inside. "mmmmmmmm, love you".

"Were you talking to me or the coffee?" Sam asked.

"Take one guess".

"I'm afraid to" he responded. "Get your shower grumpy".

Chloe smiled on the other side of the door. Damn he was adorable. Too bad she was going to end up killing his chipper ass some morning. She felt much better after her shower and pulled on her cloths with a much better point of view. Checking her face in the mirror she saw that the bruise on her cheek was greatly faded. Dabbing a little concealer on it and a touch of lip gloss on her lips she decided to forego the rest. Today was a rest day for her after all.

She opened the door to the smell of bacon. God the man cooked too. Inhaling deeply she sent Sam a beaming smile.

"Eggs or pancakes" he asked?

"Pancakes" Chloe decided. She walked into the kitchen and slide in-between him and the counter to collect a good morning kiss. "Want some help?"

Sam looked down at her with a bemused expression. "You do know that this isn't in the least helpful right?" he asked leaning into her.

Chloe smiled up at him. "Do you want me to leave?"

Sam leaned down and kissed her gently. "I want you to go take your pills and sit down while I make breakfast" he said.

Chloe refilled her coffee cup and sat down at the kitchen table. Dean looked up at her with a lascivious grin. Chloe felt her cheeks growing hot. "Good morning princess" Dean said mildly.

Chloe blinked at him in shock. She had expected him to tease her unmercifully. She glanced up at Sam and saw he was glaring at his brother with an expression fit to melt metal. Grateful for the reprieve Chloe took her pills. Chloe pulled out her phone and called Angela. She would be in class this time of day and Chloe got her voicemail. She left a carefully worded message letting her know that the work was done on her house and it was cleared for occupation.

She snagged the front section of the Daily Planet out of the pile in front of Dean. Chloe smiled to herself. If only it could be like this for real. The scene was surprisingly domestic. She watched Sam out of the corner of her eye puttering in the kitchen. His expression was content. He glanced up and caught her watching him and smiling warmly. Chloe smiled back at him amazed that he was hers. He was undeniable beautiful in body and spirit. Whatever god, spirit, whim of fate had sent him her way she thanked them for it.

They had a lazy breakfast together talking about a variety of different things. While Dean was apparently willing to lay off teasing her, he prodded his brother viciously. Chloe watched them verbally sparring with a blush on her face. When they were done eating Chloe washed the dishes while the boys fought over the paper.

When Sam ran down to change over the laundry Dean put down his paper. "Chloe, we have another job waiting for us" Dean said calmly.

"Does Sam know yet?" She asked.

"No, I am going to tell him when he comes back. We are going to leave when I get back from getting my tattoo. I thought it would be easier on both of you if he didn't have to tell you".

"Where are you headed?" Chloe asked taking a deep breath and keeping her voice level. She knew this was coming, at best she had hoped for today and tomorrow with Sam.

"Colorado, we need to investigate a couple of murders there. The bodies they are finging have savage wounds on them" Dean explained. "Could just be a nut job, but something about it feels off to me".

Chloe grabbed her laptop. "Alright, I will see what I can find out while you are gone. Hopefully by the time you get back I will have a folder ready for you".

"Thanks Princess. If we have free time and are in the area we will come visit you again," Dean said. "as long as you get Lana to make me more chicken".

Chloe laughed and threw a piece of pancake at his head. "You just think with your stomach. She brought over some muffins last night when she came to do her Florence Nightingale bit. I'll pack them up with some other goodies for you guys to take with you".

Dean got up and grabbed his jacket. "Thanks beautiful. I need to head out. I'll let Sammy know about the case on my way out".

Chloe grabbed one of her cloth grocery bags and started loading goodies into it. Goodness knows she didn't need some of the junk food Dean brought in the house anyway. She put the muffins in an old beat up plastic container and put that in the bottom. Chloe went into her room and pulled her photo album out. Pulling out a few pictures she labeled them on the back and put them in an envelope with Sam's name on it. She jotted a short note to him and slid it in with the pictures. There were a couple shots of her, one of her Clark and Lana, and one of her and Lois. Chloe grabbed her camera off her bookshelf. She needed to get at least one shot of each of the brothers. She went back into the living room and stuck the envelope on top of the muffin container with a bit of tape. Putting the rest of the goodies she had gathered in on top she took the bag over and set it by the door.

Chloe sat down on the couch with her camera and focused on the door waiting. She caught Sam just as he came in the door before he noticed the camera. She took several shots of him as he came in then put the camera down. Sam seemed a bit hesitant.

"Dean told me Sam" she said. "It's okay. You have a job to do I understand that. I will be here when you get back".

Sam crossed the room and sat down beside her wrapping his arms around her. "It's unfair of me to ask you to wait for me when I will always have to leave again. Chloe, I will understand if you feel like you need to go on with your life".

Chloe looked up at him. "And how could I do that when I belong to you love? I don't regret this. It's not what I would have chosen given a chance, but I don't regret it at all. I would rather miss you knowing that you are out there thinking of me than not know you at all".

"You make me feel whole again sweet heart. You know just what to say to ease my heart. I only regret that I have to leave you" Sam answered.

"Well let's enjoy the time we have left Sam. I need to check your tattoo again. If you will go sit down at the table I will get the ointment" Chloe said stepping into her room to grab it. She stopped dead in her tracks when she came back into the room. Sam had his shirt off and was sitting backwards on one of her chairs. Light was shining in from the windows bathing his gorgeous back in shadow and light. She picked up her camera.

"Don't move Sam please" Chloe asked. She took several pictures like that from different angles then asked him to look towards the wall and got several with his face in profile before putting the camera down. "God do you even know how beautiful you are"?

Sam blushed "You are the beautiful one".

Chloe gently spread the ointment over his tattoo. She picked up her camera and took several shots of his tattoo as well. "Promise me you will take better care of this than you have been".

Sam ignored that comment. "Sit down love, let me do your shoulder now".

Chloe took a seat backwards on the chair he had been sitting in. She was wearing a halter under her robe. She still couldn't tolerate bra straps over the tattoo so was forced to wear a halter instead. Sam picked up her camera and took several pictures of her tattoo. He then gently spread the ointment over her new markings. "You tattoo looks really good Chloe. It's healing remarkable well" Sam commented.

By force of will Chloe kept from tensing at that comment. Sam would notice if she did. He was highly attuned to her body and read her like a book. "Good" was all she said.

"Stay there Chloe. I see now why you wanted to take pictures". He moved around her taking shots asking her to move this way or that in a soft voice. "Take off your shirt love" Sam told her.

Chloe shivered at the request. God what this man did to her was criminal. She did as he asked leaning forward so her breasts were against the back of the chair. He directed her to change positions a bit here and there as he took shots, but never in any way to expose her breasts to the camera. "You look like an angel with your hair lit up in sunlight" Sam said.

"A naked angel" Chloe said.

"I love my angel naked" Sam said setting her camera down on the table. He came up behind her and started kissing and nibbling down her back. "You are like a work of art pale and perfect".

Chloe gasped loving the feel of his lips. This wasn't the touch of passion. It was cherishing almost worshipful. Sam's hands ran down the outsides of her thighs as he continued kissing down her back. "I'll keep this image of you in my mind while I am gone" he said softly. "Email me those pictures please".

"I will love" Chloe replied.

"Turn around for me sweet heart I want to see your beauty bathed in light" Sam told her. Chloe slid back off the chair then turned around to face him blushing. He pushed her gently back into the chair and kneeled before her between her thighs. His hands gently pushing her knees apart to allow him room. He just looked at her for at least a minute. His eyes traveled over the shadows playing on her skin. Sam leaned forward and delicately licked at her left nipple. "So beautiful" he said reverently. Chloe gasped in pleasure. Her hands were resting on his shoulders, this time he didn't stop her when she started to caress him. Chloe enjoyed the feel of his muscles shifting under her hands.

"Mine, my beautiful angel" Sam whispered against her skin. He proceeded to torment her slowly. He licked and sucked at her nipples for an hour. His hands gently caressing her, exploring her body but never traveling beneath the fabric of her sleep pants. He was driving her mad with longing. Slowly, insistently he worked over her, his hands and mouth driving her to the point of madness until she was panting, moaning and begging for release loudly.

"Please love. Oh god Sam please, I need you". Only then did he press his hand onto her sex rubbing her just right. Her pants were already wet when he pressed his fingers against her spreading her and finding her clit unerringly. He ripped an orgasm from her body in an embarrassingly short amount of time.

"So eager for me love. You are absolutely amazing, so sexy and sweet" Sam said reverently. He picked her up and carried her over to the couch and sat down holding her in his lap. "I'll think of you every day" he swore.

"I will too Sam" Chloe said placing lazy kisses on his bare chest. "Sam you have given me so much pleasure. You haven't,…" she broke off unsure what to say. "Won't you let me please you too?"

"Chloe, my love" Sam said huskily. "The first time I come with you will be when I am thrusting deep inside your body and you are screaming in incoherent pleasure. You are so loud already; I know you will scream for me when I claim you completely.

Chloe slapped him on the shoulder. "You have got to stop saying things like that! I am going to spontaneously combust. I am not sure if the cause will be from passion or embarrassment".

Sam chuckled. "What can I say; you inspire me to naughty thoughts".

"You pretend to be a nice guy Sam Winchester, but you are really a sex crazed Neanderthal" Chloe huffed snuggling against him.

"More like Chloe crazed" he insisted. "I haven't been with anyone since," he cleared his throat "since Jessica. She… I lost her about a year and a half ago".

"I am so sorry Sam" Chloe said sincerely. "It's been quite a while for me too".

"I don't want you to feel badly Chloe. I just want you to know that I am not promiscuous either. I have had more lovers than you yes, but not so very many more" Sam told her. "I will be faithful to you".

"Thank you for saying that Sam, and for telling me about her" Chloe replied. "You know I will be faithful to you".

"I am a very lucky man".

"You probably should go check your laundry" Chloe reminded him. Sam got up reluctantly pulled his shirt on and went downstairs to check. Chloe smiled to herself. God she felt good. It was surprising what a couple of fantastic orgasms had done to loosen her body up. She had tensed up so much right before her orgasm that her ribs ached a little, but she sure as hell wasn't going to tell Sam that.

Chloe got up and grabbed a clean pair of cargo pants. She liked to lounge around the house in her sleep pants, but with Sam around she was down to one clean pair. She stepped into the shower for a quick rinse then headed to the kitchen table to start researching their next case.

She was just hacking into the local police database, too easy, when Sam came back up. "Grab my printer out of the closet please hon." Chloe said.

Sam brought the printer over and helped Chloe hook it up. She printed off the police reports for the cases that had caught Dean's eye. She printed a list of all murders in the area for the past twenty years as well.

"You hacked the police department?" Sam asked.

"Their walls are flimsy. It really wasn't hard to get in there" Chloe commented.

"You are so hot" Sam said with a grin. "My baby is a genius!"

"Your 'baby' will be single if you ever call her that again" Chloe threatened throwing a pencil at him.

"Vicious too, what a woman" he quipped.

"Give me a bit longer and I will get the coroners reports for you. I am still working on acquiring access to that section. They haven't been sent over to the police yet or I could just yank the files from their computers. Either that of they are old school or send over the files hard copy" Chloe said.

Chloe spent the next 15 min getting into the coroners files. Sam, showing he had true boyfriend potential, kept quiet and brought her a cup of coffee before she even thought to ask.

"Thanks" Chloe said not even looking up. Sam just kissed the top of her head and went back to looking over the police reports. He slid a piece of paper over beside her but didn't disturb her. She glanced over to see a list of case numbers under the words, please print these. She wasn't anywhere detectable in her hack so she tabbed out and printed the files for him before getting back to work.

"Thanks love" Sam said. Chloe smiled at him.

A few minutes later she was in the data base. She wasn't as comfortable with her hack on this one. Someone actively on the system and looking in exactly the wrong place might see her, if they were smart enough to know what they were seeing. She quickly grabbed the first files and the ones that Sam had just handed to her and backed out erasing any evidence that she had been there.

Chloe sighed in relief. She hadn't been detected and she had gotten everything she wanted. Chloe felt a rush like she always did after a successful hack and gave a joyful little chuckle. "I got all of it" she told Sam.

"You got all of the coroners' reports? That will be very helpful" Sam said looking proud.

"I even got the ones on your new list" Chloe said. "Once those reports finish printing I can print them out for you too, or would you rather have them on a flash drive? There are a lot of photos. They would look better on your laptop."

"Flash drive" Sam said after thinking a moment. "I can always print them later if I need to".

Chloe opened up the coroner's files and printed off the summary page for each case. She grabbed a spare flash drive out of her laptop case. Making sure it was blank she put the coroner's files on the drive. Then she thought about the pictures Sam wanted sent to him and went to grab her camera. She hooked it up and downloaded the pictures.

She meant to quickly load them onto the flash drive, but when she saw the pictures of Sam on the chair she almost lost the ability to breath. My god! Chloe paged through them and found one that was absolutely perfect. The expression on his face was pensive and maybe just a bit sad. He was almost half turned towards the light. She had taken the shot from behind his left shoulder at a slightly upward angle, the play of light over his body was stunning. His tattoo stood out beautifully on his shoulder lit by the light from the window. Wow, that was a thing of beauty. Chloe quickly set the picture as her desktop wallpaper.

"Do you think I should send this picture to Echo for her portfolio?" Chloe asked Sam.

"Sure go ahead" Sam replied. "We should send one of yours as well so she can show the set. Actually, send her one where my face isn't turned so much to the camera". Chloe paged back two shots to one where his face was turned mostly away from the camera. If you didn't know him you wouldn't be able to tell who it was. It was a closer shot as well and showed the tattoo off beautifully where the other shot showed off the man beautifully.

"That one is good" he agreed. "Show me the ones of you". He stood up to stand behind her leaning down over her shoulder.

Chloe was sort of embarrassed looking through the shots, but even she had to admit they were beautiful. Where his darker skin and hair absorbed the light, her blond hair and pale skin shown in it. "You look stunning love" he whispered in her ear.

He picked out a very modest shot with the halter still on. In the shot her head was turned away from the camera as well. Chloe smiled at his caution. He was so very careful to protect her.

"I am going to put the all the pictures on the flash drive too. Much easier than mailing them to you and I won't have to pick and choose" Chloe told him.

She went through the pictures deleting a couple of bad shots and loaded the rest onto the drive. She ejected it and handed it to him. Chloe got up and pulled out a file folder to put all the papers in. Grabbing Echo's card out of her wallet to get her email address, she attached the pictures that Sam had selected and typed in a short note saying she thought she might like them for her portfolio.

She had two emails in her inbox as well so Chloe checked them. Victor sent a note saying he had a prototype for the Q2 ready and asked her to ask the brothers to field test it for him. "Do you guys want to field test the Q2?" Chloe asked Sam.

"Sure no problem, have him mail it to this address". He gave her the address for a post office box in Salt Lake City. "We have several post office boxes around the country. We can stop at that one on the way out of Oregon. Have him send it 3 day so it's there before we leave the area or it may be a while before we get it".

"Mitch Mitchell?" Chloe asked. "How many aliases do you two have"?

"A lot, Dean picks most of the names" Sam said with a grimace.

Sam had been looking through the coroner's files while Chloe was busy with her computer. Sam gathered up the notes and put them away in the folder. "Not much more we can do from here Chloe. It's definitely something that Dean and I need to check out. Let's spend the rest of the day just being people".

Chloe nodded at the flash drive. "You can keep that, I have about a dozen of them" Chloe said.

"I am going to run downstairs. I'll be right back." Sam said.

"Take the laundry hamper from my room and bring the clothes back. I'll help you fold" Chloe offered.

Dean would be back in the next hour, hour and a half. Chloe decided to make some sandwiches up for a late lunch when he got back. She was just finishing up when Sam came back upstairs.

"I though I would feed you two a late lunch when Dean gets back. Don't want to send you out for a long drive on an empty stomach" she said.

"I love how you care for both of us" Sam said sitting down on the couch with the laundry hamper. "There is just one load left in the dryer now. Thanks for the use of the washer. Sometimes we let the laundry get out of hand".

Chloe booted up the music player on her laptop and started some relaxing background music playing.

"It must be hard to keep up with stuff like that with what you do" Chloe commented. She walked over and picked up a pair of jeans and laughed.

Sam looked up at her laugh. "what"?

She held up a pair of Sam's blue jeans. With the cuffs touching the ground they still came up all the way to her breasts. Chloe arched an eyebrow and he gave her a rueful look.

"I can't help it you are a midget" Sam teased.

Chloe threw a t-shirt at his head and continued folding. Doing a simple chore like this with him felt so delightfully domestic. It made her heart achingly aware that domestic might never be a word to describe them.

When they where finished folding, Sam put all the clothes away into their bags. He went around the apartment collecting odd bits that were left around her home. Once he was done he joined her on the couch.

"Come here love" He said pulling her in next to him.

Chloe snuggled close to his warm body. They just stayed there like that silently for a long time listening to music holding each other close. Sam would kiss her on the top of her head every once in a while.

Sam finally broke the silence "I am going to miss you Chloe. You have our cell phone numbers and my email".

"I do Sam. Call me as often as you want. I don't want to accidentally call you when you are in the middle of a hunt" Chloe said.

Sam laughed. "Dean is the one who forgets to silence his phone. I'll call you a lot anyway".

"I am up late usually. So right before you go to bed would be a good time to call".

Chloe kneeled up on the couch beside him and slid into his lap. She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him gently on the lips. Sam pulled her closer and parted her lips with his tongue kissing her with sweet longing. They clung together making out on the couch for close to a half an hour like horney teenagers. Sam slide his finger under the edge of her top running it back and forth just under the edge. Chloe realized he was caressing the mark on her breast from last night. They finally broke apart when they heard booted footsteps coming up the stairs. They parted reluctantly before Dean knocked and opened the door.

"You ready to go Sammy?" Dean asked as he came in.

"Just about, there is a load in the dryer down stairs still" He said tossing the basket at Dean.

Dean ran downstairs to get the laundry. Sam pulled her back into his arms for one more kiss. This kiss was passionately desperate where the earlier ones had been sweet. "I hate to leave you".

Chloe forced a smile. "It really is okay Sam. I honestly do understand you have to go. Be careful and stay safe for me please. You two are heroes Sam, and I wouldn't do anything to take a hero out of the world. They are so desperately needed".

Chloe turned and walked away when she felt tears in her eyes. She didn't want Sam to see her sad. Walking into the kitchen she took the plate of sandwiches out of the fridge, wiping the tears away while she was hidden behind the door. She grabbed a bag of chips and put both on the table. Sam pulled out plates without waiting to be asked and put a beer in front of Dean's seat and sodas in front of the other two.

Dean came back in with the basket and dropped it by the couch when he saw food out.

"Great, I'm starved" he said.

"When aren't you starved Dean?" Chloe asked with a smile.

"I'm driving I shouldn't have the beer" he commented.

"I'll drive Dean" Sam said.

Dean just stared at Sam.

"Do you really want to spend the next 8 hours with your shoulder pressed back against the seat?" Sam asked.

"Good point, you drive" Dean said taking a swig of beer.

Chloe and Sam caught Dean up to speed on the research while they ate lunch.

"Smart, Sexy and a hacker? Will you marry me Princess?" Dean quipped.

"I thought you were saving yourself for Lana" Chloe said.

"I can get good food at a diner, a good hacker is hard to come by" he winked at her flirtatiously. "Besides that wouldn't piss off Sammy nearly as much".

Chloe laughed at his antics. "Go forth and fold laundry" she told him.

The boys folded the last load of laundry while Chloe cleared the table. Once they had everything packed away Chloe called Dean over to the table.

"Shirt off Casanova, I want to check your tattoo before you leave" Chloe pointed to a chair in front of her.

"You are just trying to get my clothes off admit it" he said with a grin as he took off his shirt and straddled the chair.

"Sorry to break your heart, but the man I want to take his clothes off is much taller than you" Chloe said snarkily.

"You know, I am the only 6 foot tall man I know that feels short on a regular basis. You really should be kind to my developing neuroses".

"I am weeping for you inside I promise" Chloe laughed.

Chloe pulled back the bandage on his shoulder slowly. Sam came over to stand behind her looking over her shoulder. She smiled when the tattoo was revealed. It was a lovely piece of art just like all of Echo's work. It was very similar to Sam's and yet slightly different. Sam's had a feeling a quiet solid strength and masculinity. Deans felt very masculine and strong as well, but was bolder of line. It suited him perfectly, reflecting his more brazen character. Echo's work showed in ink the intrinsic likeness and dissimilarity between the brothers. It was only now that she was seeing them both that she truly appreciated how well Sam's suited him. Echo's work was remarkably evocative.

"Dean this is magnificent. Women are going to love it. I promise you that" Chloe told him. She gently cleansed the area and applied the ointment with a gentle but generous hand. Picking up her camera she took several shots of his tattoo and then backed up and took pictures of the man for himself. She showed them to Dean on the display so he could get a good look at the tattoo.

"She really does amazing work doesn't she" Dean commented.

"We were very lucky to find her" Chloe agreed.

"Well we should hit the road" Dean said pulling on his shirt. Daylight is fading. He grabbed several bags and went out the door.

"So this is it then" Chloe said. "I am really going to miss you Sam Winchester".

"I will miss you Chloe Sullivan" Sam said holding her close.

"I have to go" he said letting go with a sigh. He picked up the rest of the bags and headed down the stairs.

Chloe grabbed her camera and followed him out walking him to the car. She snapped a couple shots of the brothers together as they were loading the car.

"Take care of yourself Sam" she said hugging him close.

"I will."

Chloe walked over and hugged a surprised Dean whispering in his ear. "You take care of him for me okay".

"I will Princess, and you be careful" Dean replied.

They both climbed into the car ready to go. Chloe leaned in the driver's window and kissed Sam one last time before turning and walking away not wanting to watch them leave.

Chloe walked back up to her apartment. She slowly walked around the apartment looking. The only trace that they had been there was the bandage from Dean's shoulder in the trash can and the tin of ointment and care instructions sitting on the table. Sam had taken out the rest of the trash earlier.

Chloe sat down at the table with a thunk jarring her rib slightly. The apartment felt empty and too quiet without them. Chloe sighed and turned on some music to keep her company as she gathered up her laundry to take downstairs. She heard her phone beep she had a text message and picked it up.

I miss you already.

S

I miss you too.

C

Chloe smiled picked up her basket and went on with her life.


End file.
